


Avatar: Civil Strife

by King_Bumis_Heir



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Barbarian Song Dynasty Omashu, Civil War, Comedy, Communist Song Dynasty Ba Sing Se, Drama, Earth Kingdom (Avatar), F/F, F/M, M/M, Original Characters - Freeform, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Sexism, Possible Homosexual Smut still deciding, Pre-100 Year War (Avatar TV), Pre-Avatar: The Last Airbender, Pre-Canon, Prequel to Rong Yan, TW: Execution of Gay People, TW: Fictional Racism, TW: Possible Child Death, TW: Rape non-consent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26608741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/King_Bumis_Heir/pseuds/King_Bumis_Heir
Summary: The war has brewed in the Haijun and Omashu Kingdoms for as long as anyone can remember, the four-hundred-year-old war continues to rage on. However, the war is almost over the Haijun Kingdom losing territory to the merciless Kuiwu Dynasty ruling in the Oma Kingdom.Twenty-six-year-old Avani the successor of Avatar Keirou is born into the Haijun Kingdom to a noble family, where her generation serves the Earth King and the royal family. Avani is tasked to help end the war, while she expects to be at the helm of the operation she's instead cut down to size and is placed amongst the commoners all with the common goal in stopping the Oma Kingdom from ending the war. All while the Oma Kingdom's newest king Yeman Kuiwu AKA Manzujichengren, lives up to the legacy his father held.His eyes and ears alert him of the danger the young Avatar poses, and Yeman employs a skillful mercenary of the barbarian clans that live in the Oma Kingdom. Gan works for the highest bidder, and he's perfect because he will complete a job without ethics getting in the way. Will the Haijun Kingdom get the Oma Kingdom out of their yard? Or will the Oma Kingdom finally end the war?
Relationships: Airen/Minor Gay OC, Avani/Shuaige
Kudos: 2





	1. PREFACE

This is a prequel in King Bumi's Heir AU of Avatar the Last Airbender, completely AU with a few rules from canon, all original characters, plotlines, etc. Avatar Civil Strife is not exactly a prequel to Avatar The Legacy of Rong Yan but they're in the same universe 1,200 years apart. Avani is the Earth Kingdom Avatar who lives during 1941 BG - 1823 BG, she's born into a kingdom that has brainwashed the youth into believing they must serve the 33rd Earth King of the Haijun Kingdom, Shuicheng Haijun. Everyone in this time period must follow the strict laws or face disappearing at night by the Yanzhao, the secret police of the Haijun Kingdom. They're everywhere, they know when you're awake and they know when you're asleep. 

While the Oma Kingdom is conquered by the Kuiwu Clan from the province of Xu, Yeman the prince becomes the 57th Earth King of the Oma Kingdom and inherits his father's legacy and must uphold the merciless rule or the Court of Clans will usurp him from rule. They're winning the war and employ barbarian clans alongside their men to conquer Haijun provinces while committing crimes against humanity.

Historically, Song Dynasty was pro-LGBT but my story isn't historically accurate on everything, the current Dynasty has banned homosexuality. The inclusion of the LGBTQ isn't for shock-value but more for the representation that ATLORY lacked because it wasn't important to the story. Haijun Kingdom being anti-gay ties into the story of one of the supporting characters who lives in a society where he can executed for his lifestyle. Trigger warning: Minor characters that appear in snippets of the story's background can be punished for their lifestyle choices. They'll be discriminated against and called names however none of the names that will be used, will NOT be real-world slurs. This character's story ties into the Avatar's story and the story of the current dynasty. Please do not complain about it if it's too triggering it's not for the weak-hearted.

The Oma Kingdom commits crimes against humanity, they're barbarians and hate Haijun civilians so they'll torture, rape, maim, and murder civilians. Trigger warning: There will be non-consent rape but it will be held to a minimum and limited to only adults. Gore will be included sometimes, although children are excluded from all forms of the crimes committed by enemy army except murder. Their murders however will be very vague and non-descriptive.

There will be romance involved, unlike my first story which held it to a minimum because it wasn't important to the story. This tale will contain romance a bit more than the first story, and there may be romance scenes that lead to sex. Warning: I might write a smut scene between one of the supporting characters and a minor character. I'll let you guess which character wins the lottery. 

Racism is also a part of this world much like in the Legacy of Rong Yan, although the characters will use canon racial slurs and fanon racial slurs. Example of canon: ash masker, dirt person; Example of fanon: snowback, snow savage, arrowhead, and windbag.

All nations will have their own culture that will sort of accurate with a real world culture an example of this is Haijun Kingdom being Song Dynasty, Oma Kingdom being Mongolians, Gaxun Tribe sandbenders being Yoruban, Air Nomads being Tibetan, etc. They will have different religions, pantheons, etc., my loyal readers are aware of this and while they're used to my AU they too will learn new things. :)

Avani's story starts in the Upper Ring as she's born into a noble family, things are heavily focused on nobility playing war while the common rabble takes action against the enemy kingdom. Avatar Civil Strife answers questions left unanswered by The Legacy of Rong Yan. Who started the war? Why did it happen in the first place? Why is the war continuing after those dynasties are gone? 

And new questions like, How did the Haijun Kingdom end up the way it is in Civil Strife? 

Inspirations for the Haijun Kingdom is Song Dynasty China but I wanted them to be ruled by a communist monarch. Sort of how Ba Sing Se was during ATLA except the Earth King isn't a spineless coward. The communist part comes from 1984 by George Orwell, translated into Song Dynasty and the Avatar universe.

The Oma Kingdom is conquered by barbarians inspired by the ancient Mongols while some are more civilized than others, the more civilized ones take control of the Kingdom while the uncivilized ones are used as pawns to fuel the civil war. The clans are powerful enough to reunite the entire Earth Kingdom under barbarian rule.

Hansuke is a secondary character with a minor mentor role for Avani although he's a ghost, the character's role is more like a tertiary character because he doesn't always physically appear but he's around. This however might change.

Originally, I had planned on doing a prequel of Rong Yan with his past life Ku Tei as the main protagonist and expand further on his story. But on the storyboard for rewriting ATLORY it was scrapped because it'd get repetitive and something the readers would not be willing to read again and instead Avani was created.

If you're interested in reading my first story as well, it can be found on FFN, Avatar Wiki, and Wattpad as "Avatar: The Legacy of Rong Yan" by KingBumisHeir. Or google it.

** Characters **

Avatar Avani - The successor of Avatar Keirou, a twenty-six-year-old Haijun Kingdom woman born into Upper Ring nobility of Ba Sing Se. Raised to believe she serves the Earth King and his royal family. She's only obedient, silent, and graceful around her family and the Haijun Dynasty however, in her true nature she's independent, courageous, self-reliant, outspoken, and prideful after all she allowed being a fully-realized Avatar get to her head. Her world will be turned upside down when Shuicheng orders her to work with the common rabble.

Airen Shengqi - A low-class noble who lives in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, the thirty-four-year-old noble recently volunteered to join the civil war just as his father wanted him to. The Shengqi family's patriarch Yingxiong Shengqi, was once a decorated war hero who served in multiple campaigns, awarded a medal of honor and gifted a home in the Lower sections of the Upper Ring by 27th Earth King Ziyou Haijun for his service. His son Airen was raised to be a trained warrior with the same skills his father has. Airen is short-tempered and arrogant, he lacks in height while being naturally shorter than the other men they would tease him often until they were beaten to a pulp. They were shown that height has nothing to do with fighting skills, already having seen a few battles himself he's reputed as having over eighty confirmed kills. While Airen seems like a tough cookie he has one deep secret if revealed could result in his death.

Zuqiu - The son of a farmer from the province of Duryaja, his father is exempt from the war over a physical disability that he earned in his later years. Zuqiu is a nineteen-year-old who's clumsy, energetic, weird, and funny. He grows to have a crush on Avani but he never has the courage to talk to her more than just a friend. Zuqiu is a non-bender proficient with a long bow and a dao sword.

Fangzhu - An obese thirty-one-year-old Air Nomad from the Baiyan Air Temple exiled over an assault on an Oma Kingdom civilian after they were allegedly accused of rape and murder. Fangzhu murdered the alleged criminal without all the evidence provided, this resulted in his escape from the province of Xingwu, the news reached the Council in the Northern temple, and he was severely punished. His abnormal behavior was a result of trauma from himself being molested by a guardian monk, the Council found these morals and actions uncommon for the stereotypical Air Nomad. Forever marked by the Mark of the Exile, some of the upper-class civilians in the Haijun Kingdom refuse to interact with him. While peaceful and gentle in nature, Fangzhu has tasted blood and seeks to aid the Haijun Kingdom in ending the war against the Oma Kingdom.

Shuaige Qishi - A brave, loyal, and strong twenty-eight-year-old earthbender soldier he's everything the Council of Five seek in the perfect soldier. The exact opposite of what Avani is, the captain of a company of eighty men, he finds himself to be in contention and disagreement with the newest recruit who thinks she's high and mighty because of her title. Eventually they get to know more about each other they grow to co-exist. 

** Minor Characters **  
Shuicheng Haijun - The 28th Earth King of the Haijun Kingdom, the great emperor of the Haijun Dynasty, a golden age for naval warfare, Shuicheng inherits a kingdom from his father Ziyou. He rises to power when he's thirty-years-old, before the birth of his daughter Crowned Princess Hailiu, around the time Hailiu was born he began reforms and produced propaganda that ended with the Kingdom changing forever. Shuicheng knew that Avatar Keirou was old and soon he would pass he prayed to the gods to bless the Haijun Kingdom with the new Avatar one that can be trained under the protection of the Haijun Kingdom and not be utilized by the Oma Kingdom as a weapon. Shuicheng is reserved, serious, pious, and patriotic to his kingdom all while under the nose of his daughter Hailiu and the Avatar he's emotionally cold and incredibly cunning. Shuicheng will always be one step ahead of his enemies and his pawns with Yanzhao as his spies around the city, Shuicheng can do things quietly and efficiently. As a great liar he's able to hide his true intentions.

Hailiu Haijun - The heir to Shuicheng's throne, his successor, his daughter was also brainwashed to believe all the propaganda she grew up learning. She along with the youth believe the Earth King to be a perfect being of justice. Although she's quite the opposite of Shuicheng, she's favored by some nobles that one day when she's crowned a time of peace for the Haijun Kingdom far better than how Shuicheng is running things. Except no one voices their opinions in fear of disappearing, Hailiu, is obedient, silent, well-mannered, and graceful like many of the noblewomen in the Upper Ring but she keeps quiet about her opinions as well. Shuicheng is adamant in finding a suitable heir for his thirty-four-year-old daughter although so far Hailiu has undermined every match her refusal to be with whatever match her father chooses is something she fears. 

Avatar Keirou - The predecessor of Avatar Avani, born to the Southern Water Tribe in 2044 BG, before his death he planned to investigate the rumors of the Haijun Kingdom's newest Earth King. Although when he became ill he held off the investigation until he got better, already in his old age his health worsened and he realized he couldn't do anything at this point after weakness has taken over his body. Keirou passes away in 1941 BG dying of some illness. He serves Avani as a mentor although his knowledge remains limited to the events of the Haijun Kingdom.

Avatar Hansuke - A previous Fire Nation incarnation of Avatar Avani, who lived centuries before the existence of the war who died in a ridiculous accident. Normally, previous lives are summoned when called upon by the present Avatar except Hansuke manifests himself to Avani from time to time and serves as her mentor. At first she thought she was being haunted by a introvert ghost until she explained it to her past life, Keirou warned her to get rid of him because she'll end up like Hansuke. Not much is known of Hansuke's life because most Avatar historians don't care about him, Hansuke is arguably, the worst Avatar to ever live and as such even the historians laugh at Avani when she tries to save Hansuke's name.

Gan - A mercenary hired by Earth King Yeman Kuiwu of the Oma Kingdom, Gan, does any job for the highest bidder without ethics getting in the way. Gan is a merciless killer, with skills like stealth, disguise, fluent in different languages, archery, lockpicking, and even a weapon master who specializes in mace combat. Often underestimated for his lack of bending abilities by benders Gan has learned to accept the fact that he was born a non-bender but has made up for it by learning to fight and mastering other skills in life.


	2. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avatar Keirou is bedridden and being visited by family in his final hour he relieves information onto his son. Who shall make arrangements soon after his death. Four years after his passing the Royal Palace in Ba Sing Se called the Order of the White Lotus to commence testing for the new Avatar. The fastest and most accurate form of testing comes from the Oma Kingdom. 
> 
> Gomo, an Oma Kingdom member is a master of Spiritual Tantrism, an art form sacred to the Oma Kingdom. So far the noble children who've been tested have failed. But the Xinao family is next in line alphabetically. Will there daughter be the One?

_FIRE..._

_AIR..._

_WATER..._

_EARTH..._

  
_When I was a little girl my mother used to tell me bedtime stories of the time before she became Earth Queen. My grandfather had the vilest plan in the history of the Duryajian Kingdom, before my mother was born he reformed many things in the kingdom that my forefathers were proud of. He even founded the dreaded Yanzhao, but while Avatar Keirou was still alive, he couldn't stop my grandfather._

  
_Avatar Keirou grew ill of a lung infection which worsened over time, as he became bedridden he abandoned his duties as the Avatar. Leaving my grandfather unchecked, during this time the Oma Kingdom continued to assault and conquer several of our provinces which led to a nearly-predicted war to end soon with the Oma Kingdom as victors. The problem was they were plagued by savage barbarians._

  
_Over the years, after the passing of Avatar Keirou, a new Avatar was discovered right here in Ba Sing Se. She was from the Upper Ring's very own Xinao family, but from the beginning of Avatar Avani's life, she was made to believe that she served only my grandfather, not as a servant but as his personal Avatar. And anyone who got in his way and attempted to free Avani was never seen again. But over time, Avani and my mother broke free from the bonds of Earth King Shuicheng, and at that moment the Haijun Kingdom rose to an era of prominence._

  
**Aupaluk, Northern Water Tribe**

  
It was a dark cold and tempestuous evening in the Northern Water Tribe, the sky was a gloomy navy blue color with hints of dark gray and black. The clouds were plentiful the snow never stopped falling all week. The moon was covered by the immense amount of clouds that blocked the sky. The ground covered in over a foot of snow.

  
Even in a darkened evening, the Northern Water Tribe was still a marvel to the North Pole. What little moonlight hit the palace made it the radiant heart of the capital city. The palace itself was guarded by a ton of royal guards. The northeastern portion of the capital is where all the higher class of citizens resided. Here several estates were built with ice, and wood to keep out the cold similar to the igloos of the villages in the North Pole outside the city.

  
One particular estate, however, belonged to the elderly and gravely ill Avatar Keirou. The Northern Water Tribe Avatar who was born in 2044 BG, but while Keirou was an all-powerful being his age eventually crept up on him. Recently, as of a few years ago, Keirou contracted a lung infection that never quite went away. The healers diagnosed him with lung cancer, from one point he was sad that he contracted this but all decisions made that led up to this prognosis were not regrettable. Keirou has done enough to serve the world and he should spend the rest of his days with his family in his estate.

  
Inside the estate are several of his hired guards that patrol the outside of the perimeter of the land and inside in every dark corner and several in the courtyard and gardens that are neatly maintained. Within the home is an elderly bedridden centenarian. Two caretakers kept a watchful eye on the elderly Avatar a Tribeswoman who was normally his main caretaker and her assistant a middle-aged Nomadic man who occasionally gave Keirou oxygen therapy to keep him around a bit longer.

  
The Nomad looked up to his co-worker and said, “There I just finished some oxygen therapy for him it should help keep him with us for a while but I _feel_ like he's waning on us. I'm not sure he has much time.”

  
Keirou coughed loudly and hoarsely a secretion mixed of saliva and mucus spilled out of his mouth. The nomad grabbed a cloth and wiped the Avatar's mouth of the secretion, the healer bent whatever was built up in his throat to clear it. This allowed for better breathing as the muscles in the Avatar's throat decreased in actions like swallowing. In this last week, Keirou has spent most of his time sleeping, his appetite reduced greatly as well, he was less social and only communicated with his caretakers when he needed to.

  
Since they were hired by his son there was nothing more or less of love or kindness that the once-great Avatar received. There was always a warm vibe from the two caretakers and the Avatar appreciated that. He slightly tapped the nomad's hand to get his attention, the nomad turned his attention to the tapping and spoke, “Yes?”

  
“Where's my son...? I have to tell my son...” he asked, he coughed out more mucus mixed with a bit of blood. He was interrupted by that but he resumed with his request, “...I-I fear I don't have much time...they're waiting for me to join them.”

  
“Your son and your family are on their way, Keirou,” responded the nomad.

  
“Who's _waiting_ for you?” he returned an echo question as he faced the Tribeswoman healer.

  
“They're here...Arnav...Masaru...Giralal...Katiyana...waiting for _me_ ,” he answered at different volume levels. He went from an inside voice to whispering as he named each person could they have been his past relatives or something else?

  
Several minutes later, Keirou's son Odayakana entered the main home from the other side of the estate. Odayakana was an olive-skinned sexagenarian, his cyan-colored eyes went red and he held tears in his eyelids for his father who was dying. His sinuses began to clog up as he sniffled and a tear fell out of his eyes. Odayakana's wife, their daughter, and her family entered the home after Odayakana.

  
He gently grabbed his father's hand and smiled at him, “We're here, father. Here for you.”

  
Keirou's eyes moved to eye his three great-grandchildren, a six-winter-old great-granddaughter, his great-grandson who's perhaps about three-winters-old, and a newborn baby in his granddaughter's arms.

  
Odayakana's grandchildren were unaware of the situation or why their great-grandfather was bedridden. Their grandfather intimated to them, “Careful you don't want to hurt your, _Atat._ ”

  
A tear fell from Keirou's left eye as he eyed his great-granddaughter, “My beautiful great-grandbabies you will grow to be powerful and important adults someday. I just know it,” he commented it.

  
He faced his son to get his attention, “We...must speak before I depart...” he whispered.

  
“What is it, _Atatak_?” he questioned Keirou.

  
“Have you received any news from Laoyan?” Keirou returned an echo question.

  
Odayakana shook his head at his father and declined, “No, nothing...last I told you anything about him was when he was talking about the reforms that were happening in the Haijun Kingdom ever since Shuicheng took power. Laoyan once mentioned it was all cloudy, I suppose maybe Shuicheng knows your dying and is preparing for the new Avatar.”

  
“Yes...” he coughed, he spilled more of the secretion mixed with blood out of his mouth. His caretaker bent the liquid away from the Avatar while his son wiped his lips clean of the stuff. Keirou cleared his throat his voice was raspy, “...perhaps but the Avatar can also be born in the Oma Kingdom. They've recently been plagued by barbarians last I heard.”

  
Keirou continued to cough it scared his grandchildren quite a bit because it repeated more secretion fell out. He was minutes away from death by the looks of it, his son gave him fluids through waterbending a small amount of water from a bowl of freshwater. Keirou's throat was refreshed he requested a favor from Odayakana, “I must ask you a favor, my _innik_. When I pass...make sure to notify Grand Lotus Tseten...the chief can arrange the meeting. Tseten will make arrangements and begin the search for the new Avatar, they will be born in one of the two war-torn kingdoms.”

  
Odayakana gently squeezed Keirou's hand and he shed another tear, “I'll make sure it's done, _Atatak_.”

  
“I...” he paused before he coughed a few more times much worse than the last “...fear I must go soon, know that I...l-love you, Odaya...your mother loves you...” he whispered.

  
A flash of light filled the room Odaya saw his father's eyes glowed one final time, the children were frightened as they hid behind their parents. They've never seen their great-grandfather enter the Avatar State so the event was rather terrifying for them. Everyone stared at Keirou for this brief moment they've never seen an Avatar die.

  
The glow in his eyes resumed only for several seconds even some of the guards saw through the rice paper of the apertures, the kind of glow that emanated from the hospice home. As each breath was more labored than the one before Avatar Keirou's final words whispered were, “...Raava...”

  
Odayakana saw as the white glow escaped his father's eyes at the same time his body released its final breath and the weakened grip he kept around his son's hand loosened. Avatar Keirou was gone, forever. Odaya wept for the death of his father but he knew that like the cycle of the seasons, the Avatar is being born somewhere in the Haijun or Oma Kingdoms.

  
**Four Years Later**

  
It was a stormy morning the clouds covered the skies above the gargantuan city-state capital of the Haijun Kingdom. A wooden carriage was being escorted by a platoon of chainmail wearing guards in yellow tabards embroidered with the head of a lion bear. The crest of the Xinao family of the Upper Ring, the carriage headed toward the humongous palace of the Royal Family.

  
When the carriage came to halt they saluted the royal guards of the palace, one of the men opened the door for the family. The first to step out was Lord Jifu Xinao, he was a tall, thin tricenarian, his skin was a sunkissed color. His eyes were dark green, his hair was auburn and kept neatly under his golden _yangwan_. He wore a cross color robe, the interior color was light golden color while the exterior lining and the collar were darker golden colors The embroidery design in the center of the robes he wore was that of a lion bear.

  
Second, to exit the carriage was Lady Munaiyi Xinao, Lord Jifu's wife she was short, plump, her head was round and wide as was her neck. She was tan-skinned with lime-colored eyes, her hair was styled in the shape of a bumble fly hive. For some reason, the hairstyle has been popular since before the Hao Dynasty. She wore a colorful hanfu, the upper-robe was dark green, the inner tunic was lime color, while the skirt she wore was a jade color. The tunic and skirt were fastened together with a lime-colored sash.

  
Her feet were small as was the custom in the Haijun Kingdom, there was a practice that started in the early Haijun Kingdom known as 'footbinding'. Which entailed rituals of binding a young noble girl's feet, it gave them the beauty and erotic appeal toward the men, and these girls who eventually grew to be women were likely chosen for marriage. Munaiyi's feet were small, she wore small shoes perhaps the size of a young girl.

  
She pivoted to face the door of the carriage and she lifted a small girl off the carriage, the child was about four-years-old. She had brown skin, dark green eyes, and her light brown hair was styled into double buns. She was dressed in a light green dress, was dressed formally and presentable for the Earth King.

  
The family was escorted through the halls of the palace and into the throne room. When they arrived they saw men and women dressed in white robes with black mantles and black sashes, their boots were black. Their robes carried motifs of a white lotus but the Xinao family were unfamiliar with the group. Only one or two of them looked Kingsmen while the others came from faraway lands. Lord Jifu and Lady Munaiyi eyed the Earth King were middle-aged likely in his early forties. They got down on their knees and kowtowed the Tianzi.

  
The only one who refused to kowtow even though she was taught to do so was the little girl. She was unaware of everything she was more concerned about playing with her dolls. Another girl was present she sat next to the Earth King. She recently turned twelve-years-old she wanted to speak and the King noticed this. Instead, he waved his hand at her which prevented her from uttering a single word. The girl wore the finest fabrics the Haijun Kingdom offered the colors she wore were white and gold, unlike her father who wore light green and jade.

  
His crown was similar to a _boke du_ , it was black and had one long strip on each end. In the center of the front brand of the crown was the Haijun Kingdom insignia, it was known as “Tiandi's Eye”, the insignia was colored gold. The belt that fastened his robes was also golden and carried the other insignia it the Golden Sun.

  
It was famously known that the Haijun Kingdom had the best sunsets. His skin was light brown, his eyes were green, his hair was held in a topknot but was hidden under his crown, and his mustache grew from his nostrils around his upper lip and ended just past the corners of his mouth. His goatee was a tad bit long but it never passed his neck triangle, he showed very few wrinkles that will only increase while he aged further in life.

  
The princess to his right was also a light brown skin color like her father, her hair was black and styled into double-headed hair. It was wrapped up and held together by a band. Instead of a knot, the hair was shaped into a small tight bow. A small golden crown hairpiece was fitted in front of the bow-shaped hair. Her eyes were a forest green color, the young girl stayed quiet until her father allowed her to speak.

  
Munaiyi silently gasped when she saw that her daughter walked off when she needed to kowtow before the Earth King and the crowned Earth Princess. She refused to move and stayed in the position she knelt in with her forehead touching the surface of the palace floors. The child walked off toward the white-robed strangers. A woman with a light blue hairpiece in her hair picked the little girl in her arms and smiled. She must've been from the Southern Water Tribe because the Southern Tribesmen wore shades of blue while their northern counterparts wore different shades of purple.

  
“Lord Jifu and Lady Munaiyi Xinao, you may rise I'm glad you're bringing your daughter here to see if she may be...the _One_ ,” began the Earth King.

  
Both parents rose to their feet the patriarch of the Xinao family bowed his head and thanked the King, “Thank you, King Shuicheng.”

  
He slightly nodded at him after he accepted the formal thank you, a Nationalist member of the strange group questioned them about their daughter, “How old is your daughter?”

  
“She's four-years-old,” answered her mother.

  
“She's at the right age, Tianzi,” mentioned the Nationalist member to the Earth King as he faced him for a brief moment.

  
“Begin the process, Taika,” said Earth King Shuicheng.

  
The Nationalist bowed his head in respect to the Earth King and replied, “Yes, Wanggoudexin.”

  
An older member stepped forward he had Kingsmen features but a distinct look of a barbarian. He was possibly from the Oma Kingdom. Jifu was surprised the man wasn't killed on the spot but he didn't bother asking questions. The old man's face was covered in wrinkles he smiled at the little girl who remained in the Southern tribeswoman's arms. He stepped forward and formed a rectangular-shaped table of earth from the palace floors.

  
The woman laid the little girl on the table and Munaiyi was motioned to go over and comfort her child. Munaiyi was concerned for her daughter and asked, “Will this hurt her?”

  
“No not at all this test is entirely painless,” the old man replied.

  
The old man stood over the little girl and gently hovered his wrinkled, bony hands over her chakras locations as he sensed her chi. He gasped a bit when he felt that her stomach chakra was filled with large amounts of chi often found in master benders. It was like a vast ocean, his hands hovered over her chest, the girl's heartbeat went up because she had no idea what was going on.

  
“What do you sense so far?” Shuicheng asked him, he saw when Gomo's face expressed a face of surprise.

  
“Her stomach chakra reveals that her chi is almost and vast as that of a master bender. I can sense that she has a strong heart,” responded Gomo.

  
From hovering his hands over her chest he moved up to the crown chakra atop her head, he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Gomo concentrated and in the void of black he saw a vision of Avatar Keirou's face. He took a step back startled and gasped Shuicheng rose from his throne then Gomo shouted, “Avatar Keirou! She's the One! She's the Avatar!”

  
Shuicheng sat back down while everyone even the guards in the throne room cheered for the announcement of the next Avatar. The immediate successor of Avatar Keirou of the Northern Water Tribe. Shuicheng rose from his throne again and announced, “Long live Avatar Avani, may she be blessed with _wan_ years!”

  
Everyone else joined in and blessed the new Avatar with a long life of ten-thousand years, the girl was confused as to why everyone was so excited for her. Her mother picked her up in her arms and hugging her daughter as she smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * The opening sequence is told in the perspective of the 30th Earth Queen, remembering the bed time stories her mother the 29th Earth Queen Hailiu Haijun.  
> * Duryajian Kingdom is the original name of the northern Kingdom, named after the first Earth King. Although the name of the kingdom changes based on who's ruling it.  
> * Killing an Avatar through a disease was actually taboo for me and this was my first time writing it. Lung cancer came into my head after I quit smoking. So I had done my research and I even got a bit emotional as I wrote this.  
> * Entering the Avatar State one last time, was an idea inspired from "Tales of Republic City", second to last chapter I won't spoil it though.  
> * The names he mentions "Arnav, Masaru, Giralal, and Katiyana" are his past lives from the previous cycle. Air, Fire, Earth, and Water.  
> * Atatak means father in Inuit.  
> * Atat means grandfather in Inuit.  
> * Innik means son in Inuit.  
> * The culture of the Haijun Kingdom is based on the Song Dynasty as mentioned in the Preface.  
> * A boke du is a black hat worn by officials in ancient China and Joseon Kingdom Korea. In the live-action Mulan movie the Emperor wears one as well. And I wanted to make the crowns of each Dynasty different.  
> * Tiandi's Eye insignia was designed to look like an eye but at the same time look like its not. This is an indication that "Big Brother" is always watching.  
> * The Golden Sun was inspired from Ancient Japan.  
> * Spiritual Tantrism was introduced in Book 3 of Avatar: The Legacy of Rong Yan (Avatar Wiki, FFN, Wattpad), when King Gao mentioned that only those who are devotees of Shanshen can use this ability. It was widely common in the Oma Kingdom back in the 2000s - 1900s BG. Its an expansion of seismic sense and truth seeing.  
> * The Order of the White Lotus being present will be explained later, but there's something off here and you're wondering why Gomo wasn't killed on sight.  
> * Gomo mentioning that Avani's stomach chakra is almost like a vast ocean was a reference to Iroh when he's training Zuko.


	3. Book 1-1: Ascension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avani is called upon by Earth King Shuicheng to the palace to a special meeting. Special meetings usually entail special missions. Yeman's father Earth King Gun passed nearly a week ago, his funeral and Yeman's coronation is today. Airen boards the monorail out of the city, he was called for war once more this time being stationed in northern Pingyao with Captain Qishi's company. A young boy by the name of Zuqiu takes his father's place in the military, war is probably better than farming at least that's what he thinks. Fangzhu an Air Nomad monk exiled by the temples lays his life for the Haijun Kingdom and enlists himself in their military.

The sun rose brightly as it radiated through empty streets, pathways of the massive estates that rested in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se. One estate, in particular, had patrolling guards that made rounds in and around the outside of the perimeters of the walls. These men wore yellow tabards over their lamellar armor the crest was of a lion bear, a ferocious and deadly beast native to the southwestern portion of the Duryaja province.  
The siheyuan held four main houses with a large courtyard in the center, to the north was the main home where the Xinao family resided in. While to the west and east were the guest homes where often guests of the family stayed. To the south near the gates were the guard barracks where the guards rested in between rounds. Decorated pathways sheltered the family from the sunlight during the day and allowed them to get around without having to cross through the courtyard.

The courtyard had a garden maintained by hirelings and servants, a small pond was constructed where dwarf koi swam peacefully. Statues of lion bears stood frozen in time in front of the main house as they were known to ward off evil spirits or so the tales say.

Inside the kitchen of the home, a plump middle-aged woman and her middle-aged husband sat at a table while they waited for the servants to bring them breakfast. These two individuals have aged quite well the only differences added to them were wrinkles that developed over time from frequent squinting and smiling. The man maintained a bushy yet groomed an orange squash-colored mustache, he had several strands that deteriorated from his natural auburn color to a dim orange color.

Time hasn't been kind to the woman either while she looked young her hair also had streaks of gray, she had fewer wrinkles than her husband. The man fancied a golden attire which was more common in the Upper Ring within this day and age. The woman mostly wore light green attires with expensively crafted necklaces and jewelry that adorned her body. The man had a teacup in front of him, a servant arrived with a steaming kettle.

He placed the kettle on the table and grabbed the corners of his apron before he bowed to his superiors. He smiled and greeted them, “Lord Jifu, Lady Munaiyi, your tea is ready.”

He clenched the handle and gently tilted the kettle so that the tea poured inside the teacup at a controlled pace. After he served his lord first, he served his lady last, he removed the kettle from the table and held it in his hands that asked, “What of Lord Gou-Gou and Lady Avani? Are they joining for the morning meal?”

Before Jifu could answer that question a twelve-year-old boy padded into the dining area of the home while he scratched his head. The boy's skin was pale like his father's, his hair black and light green eyes like his mother's and stylized in a top knot held together by a yellow-green hairband. 

He wore a sleeveless teal tunic, with teal pantaloons and a dark green sash that held his pants at his waist. His shoes were also dark green, he was outfitted to run he eyed both of his parents and inquired, “Mom, Dad, have you seen Avani?”

His mother nodded and responded while his father remained silent, “Your sister is training with Master Taika this morning, I know you wanted to start exercising with her. She mentioned she wanted to get in some training before you woke up.”

Gou-Gou slightly nodded then he headed out the door despite his parents had told the boy before that you should never skip the morning meal. His father while looking unsatisfied with the boy's choices his mother convinced her husband to ignore their son. As Gou-Gou left his father reminded him, “Don't forget to thank the gods for another day, and remember after breakfast we're going to start on business education!”

Meanwhile, a tall and wiry old man in black trousers with white exterior accents cartwheeled to the left. He avoided a spray of fire that flew to his right, the stream of fire exited the palms of a young woman in her mid-twenties. She was a brown-skinned noblewoman, with green eyes and brown hair fashioned with two buns. One on each side of her head, although with the dueling exercise between her and her firebending master, her hair is a bit messy and loose in some places. She wore a long-sleeve olive green tunic and trousers while she trained barefoot. She was damp in some areas of her body, her face dripped with sweat as her master kept her on her toes.

Her master also grew old he lost most of his hair, for the most part, the lower sections of the crown were bald while he had hair on the top part of his head. The sides above the ears also had gray hair, surprisingly as he trained with Avani his spectacles hadn't fallen off. His amber eyes weren't as good as they were twenty-two years ago. He had whiskers for facial hair, he trimmed them and so they never grew past the corners of his mouth.

He was focused and determined to knock her on her rear, a few blasts that Taika created were thrown at Avani. This caused her to take a few hits but she crossed her arms in an attempt to block the incoming blasts of fire. With a barrage of fire blasts she was pushed back, Taika came out with a stronger blast which broke the Avatar's defense and knocked her on her rear. He got her by surprise and he saw the mistake she made. She wasn't paying attention, she rubbed her backside while on the ground as she panted.

She was shocked that even at Taika's older age her firebending master had the endurance of a young man. While in her small moment of defeat she felt rather frustrated and slammed the ground with one fist. This caused the ground to produce a small earth wave catching her master off-guard, the old man lost his balance and fell back onto the grass. She leaped into the air with cheerful glee even though she knew she broke the rules of the spar.

The old man was unhappy with his student his usual slight frown deepened further with anger. He stood up and brushed off the dirt that accumulated on his training attire. He expressed disapproval for her merriment, “Why are you celebrating? You broke the rules of the spar!”

“But I knocked you down!” she cheered.

“No you agreed to the terms of the spar, only firebending is allowed. You weren't paying attention and I took you down. You let your ego and anger get to you and decided to use earth instead of being resourceful and thinking things through!” scolded Taika.

“You need to understand that these things can get you killed!” he chided her further. 

Master Taika was right Avani allowed her ego to get the best of her. At this point, she's allowed the entire Avatar thing go to her head. His lecture entered one ear and exited through the other during her firebending master's rant she rolled her eyes at him because she's heard it all before.

“The Avatar might be an almost unstoppable force but you need to understand that you are still human. If your enemy sees that you act before you think, you will be easily defeated!” Master Taika continued.

Avani cut off her master mid-rant and mentioned, “Master, I just glow my eyes, and it's over. Look at what happened to Chieftain Bakharkhal when he made an effort to invade Suzhou City in Duryaja. It didn't work out for him or his band of misfits.”

“You barely survived that battle the Avatar State is not a toy, Avani,” maintained Taika.

Avani gestured her hand at the old Nationalist when her little brother Gou-Gou showed up at the courtyard. Gou-Gou waved at his older sister as Avani greets him, “There you are, sleeping in from last night?”

At the same time, in the background Master Taika is flailing his arms as his endless rant resumed while Avani ignored everything he said because she was paying attention to Gou-Gou. After a while, he noticed he was being ignored, and in a fit, he waved his hand in her direction in anger and stormed out of the courtyard. 

Gou-Gou answered, “Yes, father kept me busy with helping run the brewery we have here in the Upper Ring last night.”

“The patrons stare at me because they find it odd a child is working at a brewery, the bouncers told me to ignore them though,” mentioned the young boy. It was odd for a child to manage a business where alcohol was served. But Gou-Gou paid no attention to it, he's been learning the ropes of managing the brewery since he was seven-years-old. The Xinao family ran several breweries around the city of Ba Sing Se, which is where their fortune came from.

“What about you?” questioned his sister.

“Oh you know...just sparring with Master Taika,” chuckled Avani.

Gou-Gou took a gander of the old man that left the courtyard with a bit of concern, “He didn't look very amused when I came,” he commented.

“He's just angry because he got his butt kicked is all,” grinned Avani, however, this was a lie because he was angry that she used earthbending instead of sticking to firebending like she agreed to.

“Anyways, we should start running around the courtyard,” suggested the boy, Avani slightly nodded to her brother's suggestion. 

They stood beside each other and performed light stretches then they began their exercise and jogged around the large courtyard in the center of the siheyuan.

Many of the denizens of the Duryajian capital city were content with the towering monorail that surrounded their massive city. The monorail was built during the reign of the previous dynasty, this helped the citizens immensely and it was easier to get around from ring to ring. The monorail reduced its speed as it neared the first monorail station of the Middle Ring. It was there to pick up more men returning to battle after the holidays.

Several soldiers were already crammed inside the train car, many other soldiers waited outside for the earthbender drivers to stop the train. As the train came to a full-stop one of the drivers yelled out, “All aboard the monorail heading toward the Outer Wall!”

One of the men called to battle was a mid-tricenarian nobleman, this man has been in and out of battle for over five years. It was abnormal for nobles to be in the military. By law, nobility was excluded from serving the Haijun military but if they chose to participate they weren't barred from it.

He was the only soldier with expensive armor that carried motifs of legendary and extinct creatures from times of old. His armor was lamellar plated, with a dark green cape, his pauldrons had the faces of a feline-like creature with tusks called a barong carved into them. His golden belt was studded and also had a belt buckle carving of a barong adorned with expensive jewels. His hair was black and styled in a half-up top knot the hairband on his head was golden with the insignia of the golden sun on it. His beard was a short-medium length and kept groomed, his mustache grew past the corners of his mouth. The battle-hardened soldier was short and stocky, shorter than the average man but he never let his height affect his life. Some of the others stared at him because of his strange height while others stared at him for other reasons.

A younger soldier recognized him and whispered in the ear of an older veteran, “Do you know who that is?!”

The older gentleman shook his head the younger man beamed in excitement but tried his best to keep his voice down, “That's Lord Shengqi Airen, he has over eighty kills confirmed!”

The nobleman glared at the two soldiers only a few feet from him, the veteran remained quiet while the younger one backed off and turned his attention to something else. The soldier feared the nobleman, the men inside the train attempted to make more room for those who needed to board the monorail.

As the men being picked up filled the train cars further the station was slowly emptied of any men. Only to reveal the companions of these men, women of all ages, shapes, and sizes. The women cheered their husbands and boyfriends on, blew them kisses, and waved farewells. While the men laughed and fluttered their eyes at the pretty women. Airen seemed to be the only one who stared off into space and didn't engage in the activity.

One of the men saw this and mentioned the women to him, “Look at all those voluptuous and beautiful women, Airen. Which one do you like the most?” he wondered.

Airen was nervous and he tugged on his collar as his eyes darted from different women he found none of them to be appealing. His finger twitched with fear because someone picked on him so he randomly pointed at a woman as to not raise suspicion, “Uhh...the last one on the right.”

The last woman to the right of the other women was a morbidly obese woman, with a massive hairy mole on her nose that looked like it spoke words. The soldier's face shrunk in disgust how could a man love someone like that? His eyes darted back and forth to both people then he felt he needed to compliment them, “She's one of a kind...”

The soldier gagged a bit then he turned away in disgust, Airen gave a blank stare out of the monorail, then it began to move again. As it moved Airen screamed inside his head without making any facial expression, “Oh gods, I was so awkward in that response! AHHH!”

Muchang Farm, Duryaja province, Haijun Kingdom

An old, short, and heavyset farmer tilled the soil on the field of his farm, his skin had been tanned by the long days out in the sun. His eyes were a dark brown color, and his unkempt bushy black mustache was the main feature of his face. The quinquagenarian had a button nose, and chubby cheeks, the crown of his head reflected light from the sun. He wore tattered linen clothing, a tunic with some holes in it, and a pair of britches that had one too many patches on it. He wore clogs that were stained by damp soil.

The farmer shouted behind him, “Zuqiu! Hurry it up! We need to fill these holes with seeds by nightfall!”

The farmhand behind him panted a bit, under the armpits of his tunic were visibly stained with sweat. His black hair was a bit of a mess but it was still held together by a light green hairband. His skin was pale and his eyes were a forest green color. His speed was slow and lazy, the older man continued to scream in the young man's face. His clothing was the same color as the old farmer an olive green color, the farmhand had cloth wrapped around his forearms to protect them from the sun.

Zuqiu sighed, “Yes papa...”

An ostrich horse pulled in onto the road where Zuqiu and his father lived, several smaller homes and farms were in the surrounding landscape. Fen's farm was situated on the outskirts of a town called Yafao. Two men rode in on the saddle of the animal, a soldier in his military man garb and a town official behind him in commoner robes. He held a wooden box that contained conscription scrolls for one man of every family.

Zuqiu stopped working when he saw the ostrich horse arrive he shouted to his father to get his attention, “Papa the soldiers are here!”

“Hmm?” uttered the old man, he dropped his hoe and wiped his hands of dirt and gunk. The other peasants approached the men on the ostrich horse. Both Zuqiu and his father were one of the last few to go toward the soldiers.

The soldier was handed a script by the town official and shouted off the family names of all the peasants who lived on this particular road. By alphabetical order, he called them one by one, “The Hu Family!” 

A middle-aged man went near the ostrich horse and bowed before both men and then was handed a scroll.

“The Liu Family!” he called.

“The Long Family!” he resumed, more men came forward to receive their conscription scroll.

“The Muchang Family!” he named, Zuqiu's father stepped forward except Zuqiu lightly pushed his father away and took his place he bowed before the men and said, “I will take my father's place in the Haijun Kingdom army.”

“Very well,” nodded the town official, he then handed the tall and lanky young man his conscription scroll. The town official continued as more surnames were called forth.

Meanwhile, in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, there was a long line of younger men signing themselves for war. Most of them between the ages of sixteen and nineteen, the odd man out stood third in line. It was quite rare to find an Air Nomad in line to join the military. They have mostly exiled monks from the temples.

The airbender waited patiently to meet the recruiters at the table, he was tall, abdominous, and heavy. He wore an orange sash that covered the right part of his torso, his leggings were baggy, and his boots were custom-fit. His neck had creases and he had a double chin, his cheeks were round and jolly, his eyes were silver, and like many airbenders, he was marked head to toe in arrow tattoos. The most unique marking however was above his left eyebrow written in Nomadic language was “Exiled by Nam”. He was one of the few exiled Air Nomads from the temples.

The line moved forward as each recruit signed their life away to the military, the recruiter finished off the papers of the previous recruit when he called forth the next, “Next!”

A shadow grew over the recruiter the sun was completely blocked off from him, when he looked up he jumped in fright at the potential recruit in front of him. He didn't expect an enormous-sized Air Nomad in front of him.

“Er...can I help you?” he questioned the Air Nomad.

“Is this the line for recruitment into the Haijun Kingdom Army?” inquired the airbender.

The recruiter steadily nodded as he stared blankly at the monk, “Yes...but it's not very often we get a foreigner wanting to enlist.”

“What are your intentions?” the recruiter asked the monk.

“I want to help end the war in any way I can, I want the Oma Kingdom to pay,” the Air Nomad answered.

“Fill out this form,” said the recruiter.

The monk grabbed the quill and dipped it into the ink well beside the table, there he filled out the form with his information in Kingsmen. After he filled everything out he extended his hand in gratitude and shook the recruiter's hand. He wondered, “When is my ship date?”

“We'll come for you in the morning, Fangzhu,” smiled the recruiter.

Somewhere in the Middle Ring, a young man fought with two men in black-colored hanfu, their boots were unseen under the robes they wore, one of them had a jian on his side, and both men wore black hats that shielded their faces from the sun's rays. He clawed at the ground crying out for help but no one came to his rescue. The men who dragged the poor young man were the Yanzhao, the Earth King's secret police. He was being pulled toward the wooden platform known as the gallows where they hung the accused.

The wooden platform had five trap doors each with a noose, an executioner stood by the lever. Two more Yanzhao agents chased another young man around as they fought with him. The accused man threw rocks in their direction but the agents dodged every hit. The earthbender created a slab of earth that he controlled for the swordsman who danced around the suspect and sliced at one of his ankles. The runaway hit the ground in pain and began to cry he too was dragged to the gallows while his mother screamed and was being held back by other citizens.

She sobbed and mumbled that her son was innocent but it was clear that when the Yanzhao arrived after you've been incriminated with a high crime. The crowd's size increased as more saw that the nooses were being prepared.

The young man screamed at a close friend, “We trusted you, Chun!”  
Their close friend closed his eyes and ignored the cries of both of his former friends, one of the citizens placed his arms on his shoulders and whispered in his ear, “You did the right thing, Chun. The Tianzi will bless you with good fortune.”

Both of the young men had a noose fastened around their necks and tightened, a few bystanders held back the mother of one of the men. His ankle still bled from the wound sliced open by the jian, the crowd chanted “Death to the Daozhi! Death to the Daozhi!”

A daozhi was one who slept with the same-sex whether a man or woman. It was a derogatory slur the citizens of the Haijun Kingdom called those who committed these acts. Once you were accused of being a daozhi you didn't live long enough. The assistant of the executioner gave the executioner a thumbs up. The hangman nodded then slammed the lever down, this opened the trap doors underneath the daozhi.

Both of them dropped below the gallows and hung the first young man's neck snapped with the drop and he spun around while the second teenager swung left to right as he asphyxiated. The first didn't move but the second one clawed at the noose around his neck as he attempted to break free. However, his attempts to escape resulted to no avail. Everyone cheered for their strangulation and death it was a nightmare for those poor men. A few minutes later, the man who struggled stopped twitching, the hangman's assistance swiped at each rope with a hudie dao sword and severed the ropes. The bodies collided with the ground.

Omashu, Oma Kingdom

The once green fields that surrounded the outskirts of the grand city of Omashu were now dead and barren. Smaller camps filled the outside of the city's limits, here is where barbarian clans that held allegiance to the Kuiwu Dynasty protected the surroundings of the city. Hundreds patrolled the area from enemy soldiers that wished to assault the city.

One bridge led to the city's walls which was often removed via earthbending to prevent those who passed the patrols from entering. The chasm below housed the new naval forces of the barbaric Oma Kingdom. While inside the city walls citizens lived freely and sometimes safe, although they weren't always safe. Saying, doing, or looking the wrong way made blood flow down the rills and outside the city. Bloodshed was a common form a practice here, the homes were commonly smaller as most barbarians preferred smaller homes. 

The self-proclaimed noble barbarians however preferred bigger homes, they even owned slaves for their plantations most of the enemy soldiers captured or criminals who needed to serve their time for the crimes they've committed. Those were the lucky ones, some prisoners hung from under the mailing system where citizens could pelt them with stones. The city had guards, although every citizen minus the children wielded a weapon it'd be impossible for the Haijun Kingdom to lay siege and succeed.

Tarps filled the lower parts of all three mountains that blocked out the rain, fences were made of sharpened wooden pikes. The bazaar was filled with merchants of all kinds, those who manipulated metal found themselves employed under blacksmiths. The higher you went up the mountain the less grimy it looked the aesthetic of the place, however, remained even around the palace. The once beautiful city was transformed into something unrecognizable.

Atop the palace ground was a large altar, near it a stone statue of Fung Jin, the unquenchable for blood god of war. Here the royal family offered sacrifices to receive a blessing before a battle, this ensured their victories against the Haijun Kingdom. The altar was stained with blood dried from days past, a long pipe drained the blood down toward the rills.

Inside the palace corridors walked two men, a bald, beefy vicenarian man, and a quinquagenarian chubby man. The vicenarian was short, beefy, bald, his skin was tanned, his eyes were a light brown color, to compensate for hair he had a brown unibrow and manchu mustache with one braid on each side. The armor on his back was lamellar plated, rare animal pelts were fastened together into a cloak on his back. Around his waist was the insignia of the Oma Kingdom, on his back was a massive war hammer.

Next to him was another this quinquagenarian was slightly taller yet average in height, plump, his eyes were green, he was light tan, he was nearly bald like the younger man but his long hair flowed from the back of his cranium to his mid-back, his hair was colored gray, his facial hair was mostly kept in a medium stubble, with a small manchu stache invaded by gray hairs. He too wore lamellar armor and furs, on his back he carried a bow and a claymore.

The older barbarian rested his hand on his nephew's shoulder and assured him, “Everything will be alright without your father I will be with you every step of the way, Yeman.”

Just last week, Crowned Prince Yeman's father King Gun passed away due to illness. His funeral was in preparation for this long as was the coronation ceremony for Yeman to take the throne as successor. 

Something that both had confidence for and uneasiness, the King's court would likely usurp the throne if Yeman did not come to the same level of ruthlessness that his father Gun had. To avoid being usurped Gun had to be one of the most merciless Earth Kings to hold the throne since Li Wei of the Southern Han Dynasty.

When they exited the corridor of the palace they reached the courtyard there in the middle was a giant bonfire. A crowd of barbaric nobility surrounded it everyone wore expensive cloaks and wielded larger weapons like halberds, battleaxes, war hammers, and claymores on their backs.

The royal berserkers lined up around the courtyard while a smaller group carried a coffin. Inside the box were the remains of the former Earth King Kuiwu Gun, within were also possessions the Oma Kingdom believed Gun could find use in the afterlife. His uncle Cai Dao took a gander at one of the royal berserkers and snapped his fingers repeatedly. The royal guard minced off to retrieve and bring forth the crown.

A few minutes later, the crown was brought forth to Cai Dao, the crown was made of spider silk and obsidian. Gold accents bordered the crown's point, the pin's top held a seraphinite gem, the bottom was wrapped in dyed black furs that kept the king's ears warm in times of cold. 

Cai Dao stepped forward and announced, “Gun, the 56th Earth King of our kingdom for fifty-three years, our fearless and brutal leader who conquered most of the Haijun Kingdom before his untimely death. You were husband to Queen Consort Dai Hau, father to Crowned Prince Yeman and Princess Chu Zi, brother to Cai Dao and Xun now passed. Here we lay you this morning to rest.”

“Today we follow the first half of our former monarch Kuiwu Gun's dying wish, he asked to be cremated and have his ashes spread in the gardens of the inner palace where he will live in eternity,” he resumed.

As the royal berserkers tossed the coffin onto the bonfire everyone lowered their heads in silence and respect for the former King. In this time of silence Yeman's uncle slightly nodded to him as part of the signal to kneel in front of the bonfire. The Queen Consort and the Princess watched as their husband and father respectively burned, in a few seconds a new king will be crowned.

Cai Dao hovered the crown over Yeman's spotless head he finished the coronation, “As the second part of your dying wish. You will now be succeeded by your firstborn son. All hail the fifty-seventh Earth King Kuiwu Yeman! Long may he reign!”

The crown was rested on Yeman's head for the first time in his life the crowd around the bonfire roared, they punched the air at least twice as Yeman rose to his feet. The royal berserkers knelt before their new king while everyone else kowtowed before Yeman.

“You may all rise, bring forth the offering to Tian Fu!” commanded Yeman.

A wether-swine had a roped fastened around its neck one of the berserkers walked it over to the altar where the statue of the god of war was erected. The medium-sized creature was a swine with wool fur and big curled horns that curved around its ears. The animal had been prepared bathed in blood and painted with Kuiwu clan markings, it had been castrated as well. Yeman was handed a ceremonial knife by the Princess. She placed the knife into his right hand and she wrapped his fingers around, for a second they gazed into each other's eyes quietly. They both shared a mutual nod and Yeman padded over to the creature that was tied to the altar.

The Queen Mother walked forward while she poured purple spirits into a golden chalice, everyone knelt and prayed, “I have received the crown Lord Tian Fu, I will do what your previous Xie Erzi did when he lived. You have my word, my lord, I will end the Haijun Kingdom as you have foreseen in your vision you've gifted me. I will rule with an iron fist, and lead destruction in my wake for we shall conquer the Kingdom of Old.”

He rose the ceremonial knife into the air and then jammed it into the throat of the wether-swine, it slit open its throat and drained it of its blood. The Queen Mother handed him the chalice he rose it in the air and drank the spirits. Yeman placed the empty chalice on the altar and watched the blood of the animal pour down the chute.

Meanwhile, Jifu, approached his children Gou-Gou and Avani, his hands hidden inside his sleeves when they saw their father had appeared they both stopped in their tracks after they ran three laps around the estate. Jifu notified Avani, “Avani you've been summoned to the palace by our Tianzi, he seeks your presence as soon as you are able. A carriage is waiting by the gates to escort you there.”

Avani bowed to her father and waved goodbye to her little brother as she ran off. Several minutes later, the carriage that escorted her to the palace passed inspection at the palace ring gates. The carriage with Avani in it was handed over to Haijun Kingdom royal guards that guided her to the palace.

Inside the throne room, Earth King Shuicheng and Crowned Princess Hailiu enjoyed themselves a cup of tea. When the throne room doors opened Hailiu's head darted to the doors where Avani appeared, she rose to her feet while she held her cup of tea. She called to the Earth King, “Father she's here.”

Shuicheng's tea was being poured by a servant, the Avatar stepped forward and knelt before the Earth King to kowtow. She greeted him while her forehead touched the floor, “I am at your service, Wanggoudexin.”

“Ahh Avani, there you are I'm glad you're here I've got an important task for you,” smiled Shuicheng he was glad the Avatar arrived on time. His daughter the crowned princess bowed before the Avatar and greeted her, “Avatar Avani, it is great to see you again within our palace's walls. I hope you are doing well.”

Avani smiled and bowed to Hailiu, “Thank you, Your Highness, it's a pleasure seeing you as well.”

She turned her attention to Shuicheng who brought up the latest news in the inner politics and war, “My Yanzhao have reported that our enemies in the South have employed a rather nasty bunch of men. I'm sure you remember dealing with a few of them. This Meng clan is rumored to be far nastier than the clan that corrupts Queen Oma's seat of power.”

“Tianzi I will destroy them if that is what you wish,” implied Avani.

“No, I want you to meet with a company of men outside the Outer Wall. They're stationed in a camp near the border with northern Pingyao. I already notified Captain Qishi that you'll be at the camp soon, he's looking forward to working with you,” disagreed Shuicheng then he informed her about her next assignment.

“I will follow your words, Tianzi,” Avani approved her orders and bowed before Shuicheng.

“We wish you luck in your travels, Avani. We hope you can vanquish those men the Meng clan are infamous for being not only destructive but also deceptive. They're not your average dense barbarians,” the Crowned Princess wished Avani well.

Eastern Zhoukou province, Haijun Kingdom

A group of barbarians laid waste to a town in the eastern Zhoukou region, for the past few months this area has been known to be contested territory between the barbaric Oma Kingdom and the civilized Haijun Kingdom. They're part of an effort to lay siege to Guandi and assassinate its governor before they head off to their main mission. Except the army hadn't shown up to take back the town there had merely been a few survivors left in the town.

One of the final benders standing was an earthbender who wished to challenge all the men despite being outnumbered. The barbarians rose their weapons but their leader a tall, and fit build quinquagenarian with light pale skin mixed with a tinge of a fleshy gray color. His eyes were a dark green color, due to age his head had a ton of hairless spots and thinning in some areas. His hair started a bit above his hairs and ended on his upper back, on the top of his head he had a whiff of hair as well. His locks still miraculously maintained the black color from his youth, he wore a thick black mustache above his upper lip that ran inside his nostrils too. His eyebrows were bushy and he developed wrinkles on his forehead from furrowing his brow frequently. Both his ears were emblazoned with gold-dipped feather earrings.

He wore lamellar mixed with bronze for armor, the shawl over the upper portion of his torso was made of thick leather. The shawl was buttoned together by a pin with the Oma Kingdom insignia carved on it. He wore a leather kilt under a skirt made of lamellar plates, his boots were also made of a mixture of leathers and furs sewn together. Their leader spread his arms wide and barked at his men to stand down, “No he's mine!”

The earthbender was bruised up from the previous confrontations he's had while he defended the town. However, he was aching to fight the winners until his last breath, the man peered just below the bender's feet when he saw caltrops. He remained without emotion and quiet as to not give away the traps that were placed earlier.

The middle-aged barbarian gestured the earthbender to come forth and attack, he maintained himself and ran forward. He slammed his foot down on the ground and ripped a boulder out of the ground, he forced it forward with both palms while he broke a sweat. The boulder came toward the barbarian who side rolled to dodge the projectile. He was quickly met with a tremor, his left foot connected with the end of the earth tremor. He used this as a boost to launch himself in the air and perform a backflip. As soon as he landed the men spread out and encircled their leader and his challenger.

He created distance between himself and his challenger, the bender stepped forward but as his foot came down he was met with immense pain that knocked him on his rear. The earthbender yelped in pain a caltrop was buried deep into his foot. His foot bled while he screamed in winced as he attempted to tear the cat deer's head out of the pad of his foot. 

The lead barbarian laughed, “I love earthbenders...they prove themselves with their sheer strength but are too dumb not to spot caltrops!”

“You're free to go, bender,” he told the defeated earthbender.

A recruit whispered to another barbarian, “Why is he letting the enemy go?”

“Just watch, Gan doesn't disappoint,” the soldier responded in a hushed tone.

Gan turned to face his men while he rested his hand on the pommel of his mace, the entirety of the mace was made of fine and thick wood. While its head was crafted from iron, it was in the shape of a ball and possibly weighed a few pounds. Gan lied about letting the bender go, he pivoted around with his mace held up high then he brought it down on the defeated bender's head.

Blood poured from the gash on the man's head he muttered, “Coward, I'd rather die a warrior's death that Lord Qin is willing to give me!”

Gan shrugged and slammed the mace on the bender's cranium again this time it cracked the bender's skull. His forehead caved in and exposed his brain, another smash to the skull this time the victim breathed rapidly. His jaw and teeth were shattered when he clenched his mouth shut, blood cascaded from his mouth. 

One of his eyes protruded from his skull slightly, Gan continued the torture as he continued to slam his mace on the earthbender's head. Until nothing but a bloody pulp was left behind, he panted and stood up a sprinkle of blood rested on his face. Gan wiped his face of the victim's blood, his men and the newest recruit remained silent.

“Onwards to Guandi, Gun has made the order clear we're to kill Shuicheng and conquer the Haijun Kingdom!” yelled Gan as he rose his bloodied mace all of his soldiers roared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * A siheyuan is a common estate for the Ancient Chinese that dates back to the early Western Zhou Dynasty. They were commonly found in Beijing and rural Shangxi.
> 
> * A lion bear is a hybridized creature for the AU, mix between a lion and a bear. Shaped and sized like a bear, with the tail, coat color, and mane of a lion. They're native to the southwestern portion of the Duryaja province.
> 
> * Duryaja province was named after the first Earth King of Ba Sing Se.
> 
> * Haijun Kingdom is the northern Earth Kingdom, while the Oma Kingdom is the southern Earth Kingdom.
> 
> * Avani means "earth" in Sanskrit, her last name Xinao means "brainwashed" in Chinese.  
> * Gou-Gou means "lap dog" in Chinese, originally Gou-Gou was going to be a pet dog. But I kept the name because I like it.  
> * Taika means "conflagerate" in Japanese.  
> * Jifu means "step father" in Chinese.  
> * Munaiyi means "mummy" in Chinese.  
> * Hailiu means "still stay" in Chinese.  
> * Shuicheng means "water city" in Chinese, I named the capital of Hailiu province first before naming the Earth King. He renamed a province after his former prized possession his daughter. Naming the city after himself.  
> * Shuicheng's regnal name is Wanggoudexin which means "kingdom's heart" in Chinese, without him the Haijun Kingdom will fall.  
> * Airen Shengqi means "angry dwarf" in Chinese, yes Airen is a dwarf I imagined him to be like a fantasy dwarf in appearance. There is a fort in Yu province named after Airen, its called Fort Shengqi and it was built soon after his death. The fort still stands in Avatar: The Legacy of Rong Yan.  
> * Fangzhu means "exiled" in Chinese, the tattoo on his left eyebrow is in Sanskrit and it says "exiled by Nam". Nam is a fanon deity in the Air Nomadic pantheon, the god of death.  
> * Zuqiu means "goofball" in Chinese.  
> * Fen means "tiller" in Chinese.  
> * Yeman means "brutal" in Chinese; Manzujichengren is his regnal name which means "King's successor" in Chinese.  
> * Cai Dao means "cleaver" in Cantonese.  
> * Daozhi is a made-up derogatory term for those who sleep with the same sex, I don't remember what it meant exactly. My latest attempts at Google Translate and Chinese dictionaries have proven unsuccessful lol.  
> * Muchang means "ranch" in Chinese, Zuqiu's father is a farmer and rancher.  
> * The soldier handing out conscriptions is a reference to the Disney movie Mulan.  
> * Gun, Yeman's father is was named after the mythical father of Yu the Great.  
> * Queen Mother Dai Hau's name means "empress" in Cantonese.  
> * Chu Zi means "virgin" in Cantonese.  
> * Xun was Gun's and Cai Dao's kid brother who died conquering Bu'Keng under the Oma banner. He was seventeen when he was killed in battle. His name means "to die with cause" in Cantonese.  
> * The Yanzhao are the secret police for Earth King Shuicheng and operate outside the city as well. Yanzhao means "shield of eyes" in Chinese.  
> * The uniform of the Yanzhao is inspired by Ming Dynasty Imperial Swordsman uniforms, their hats are inspired by the Joseon Dynasty of Korea's royal guards, the hat is called "jeollip".  
> * Fung Jin the Oma Kingdom pantheon's deity of war, his name means "chaos of war" in Cantonese.  
> * Tian Fu is the Oma Kingdom's version of Tiandi, the chief deity worshipped by all four nations. His name means "heavenly father" in Cantonese.  
> * The funeral ceremony is similar to Mongolians, while the cremation comes from the Vikings.  
> * The altar of sacrifice was inspired from the Aztecs.  
> * A wether-swine was a cross between a ram and a boar, its described as a boar with wool-like fur, and with the horns of ram. The female equivalent don't grow horns.  
> * Xie Erzi means "heavenly son" in Cantonese, Yeman in this line is referring to the Oma King as the son of Tian Fu.  
> * Kingdom of Old is a reference that the Duryajian Kingdom was the first to sprout before Queen Oma founded Omashu. Or the Xia founding Garsai.  
> * Tianzi means "emperor" in Chinese, a nickname used by citizens of the Duryajian Kingdom; Taizu means "grand progenitor" in Chinese, a nickname used by the citizens of the Oma Kingdom however while it was used for those who founded a new Dynasty the name eventually stuck.  
> * Guandi is the capital of the Zhoukou province.  
> * Gan means "the boldest one" in Mongolian.  
> * Gan comes from the Meng clan who live in Omashu province.   
> * The weapon wielded by Gan is a Mongolian Ornamented Iron Mace, first used between the 9th - 14th centuries in Mongolia.  
> * Gan is a non-bender villain.  
> * The execution of the earthbender is an inspiration from the Walking Dead, where Negan kills Glenn.


	4. A Strange Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avani arrives at the military camp in northern Pingyao, where she gets acquainted with new friends and butts heads with the Captain of the military camp. Throughout the day, she spooked by a ghost although it's not what it seems because the spirit wants something from her.
> 
> Both Earth Kings meet with their men to discuss the next steps in the game of war. Which cities will be conquered? Which armies will fall?

The hot beaming sun bore down on a young woman as she went down a road on an ostrich horse. The beast galloped through the open dry fields of the desert region of Pingyao province. A small encampment was down ahead and to the left of the road. The sounds produced by the animal's webbed feet as they struck the dirt path echoed around them as they resumed to their destination. Not a cloud in the sky, just the expansive wide blue yonder.  
The encampment was surrounded by walls constructed of sawed tree logs that expanded and encircled about a quarter-of-a-mile radius. Around the exterior were military guards that patrolled its perimeter and watched for any enemy scouts in the immediate area. Inside were sporadically positioned tents of the soldiers that were stationed here. A bigger tent located near the center belonged to the commanding officer who supervised this group of recruits and several other soldiers who've spilled blood in a few battles.

The stables where the mounts of soldiers who were able to afford them were located to the right. Stablehands tended to the creatures while they trained before deployment. Avani yanked on the reins of the ostrich horse and halted her mount. The stablehands swiftly approached her and the ostrich horse to tend to the beast right away. The Avatar slid off the animal as other men appeared in wooden carts from another road.

Avani observed her environment it festered with ugly and smelly men, she saw as they all formed a single file line. An Air Nomad minced toward the line while a few others gathered nearby, a teenager curiously tapped the soldier of another and whispered in his ear, “Hey why is there an Air Nomad here? I thought they didn't believe in violence?”

The soldier responded with a simple shrug he too was curious when he saw the obese monk show up before them. The monk felt eyes on him when he turned to glance back at those who stared at him the men immediately turned heads and pretended to return to whatever they were doing before. The monk returned his gaze to the front of the line and ignored them. At the front of the line were two men next to a wooden cart loaded with a variety of things from the storage.

The first man was five-and-a-half chi and was considered fit and muscular, while the man to his right was of average height, slender, and wiry. Both of the men wore a black uniform under the armor they donned. Long sleeve tunics, and black britches, their breastplates were of lamellar plates and bronze, their thigh and shinguards were made of the same materials as were their sabatons. The pauldrons worn by the man on the left were carved into the design of the head of a baihu. The spaulders of the man to the right were golden and curved although they had no decorations like the other man. 

The right-hand man stood in front of the cart, it was full of bundles made by both men. These bundles contained toiletries, a bedroll, and other things that could prove useful to each soldier. The man on the left held a list where he had the names of every conscripted soldier who was to appear to the camp today. The man on the right announced to his superior as the men assembled in single file, “Captain Qishi, the men have assembled into a single file line, shall we begin?”

Captain Qishi turned his attention to the man below him and nodded, Avani noticed his light green piercing eyes from her spot. They were radiant she thought, his tan skin glowed, his black hair was held in a half-up topknot, his locks flowed past his pauldrons. His head was shaped like a heptagon, his jawline was defined and chiseled. His cheekbones visible although his face was nowhere near gaunt. Next to him was the other man his head was shaped like an oval although his features were harder to read from far away and they seemed unimportant to her.

She wasn't the only one staring at the Captain because behind plenty of men was a shorter than average man, he stood tall as he could, his eyebrows furrowed. He gazed at the beautifully sculptured person a few li in front of him while he held his resting face. Except for this time, he wasn't protected by the expensive armor he wore two days ago. That was stored somewhere safe within his assigned tent he was the first to arrive in the military encampment. He was wearing plain clothing, a loose tunic with no sash that fastened it shut, and patched britches.

Airen turned his head after a few seconds and scratched his rear a bit while his eyes stared onto something else in the distance. Behind Airen was another, then behind him was the abdominous airbending monk named Fangzhu. Behind the Air Nomad, was an average height young man in his late teens. The sun was blocked the long stature of the man in front of him which he didn't mind, the line grew smaller as Captain Qishi called the names of every soldier.

Zuqiu's eyes darted around at his encompassed area, he took a glimpse behind him his eyes attracted to the young woman following the man after him. She was beautiful, her dark tanned skin, and brown hair reminded him of the cocoa mint tea his mother would purchase inside Yafao during the cold winters of Duryaja province. Her eyes reminded him of the mint leaves that were an important ingredient of that concoction. The attractive young woman twirled her hair with her right index finger as she stared off into nothingness.

In reality, Avani had her arms crossed whilst she tapped her foot as she waited for the line to hurry up. He nudged the obese Air Nomad who peered down as the teenager, the young man discreetly pointed over to the girl while he gave the monk a wide grin from ear to ear. Zuqiu nudges the man directly after him who turned his attention to him. Zuqiu then twitched his head to his left at the young woman. The soldier sighed and rolled his eyes, then cut ahead of Zuqiu and Fangzhu, this allowed Zuqiu to make his move.

The nineteen-year-old licked his pinky and thumb fingers and combed his eyebrows as he prepared to take initiative and talk to the woman. He swaggered over to the young woman with confidence he's never maintained in his life. He extended his hand out and greeted her, “Hey.”

Avani responded with a simple “Hey,” in return but ignored eye contact with the young man who approached her. Zuqiu's hand remained in that position awkwardly, a bit longer until he retracted it and held his friendly smile. 

He continued smiling, “So uh...” he rubbed the back of his head with his hand and his eyes no longer gazed at her but explored the area instead.   
“What are you doing here? Is your village burning? Do you need a strong warrior to come to defend it?” he resumed and blurted a few sentences all at once. Zuqiu flexed his left bicep when he drawled at the word 'strong'.

Avani's eyes sized up the teenager then she chuckled, she shook her head at the audacity the young man had with the words he spoke, “I don't need you or any of these bozos to defend my city, I can do it on my own.”

Each word stringed along with her response struck him like stones from an attacker, he gasped, “Bozos? I'll have you kn-” he was interrupted by the monk who tugged him by his collar and dragged Zuqiu behind him.

“I do apologize about the behavior my new friend is using,” apologized Fangzhu.

“Wo cao!” exclaimed the woman in excitement, this took the monk by surprise because he didn't expect that response.

“An Air Nomad in a Haijun military camp? What brings you here?” she continued, she ignored the airbender's apology on behalf of Zuqiu. He lightly smiled and scratched the back of his bald head. Airen glanced back at the three that formed a blob in the line. He eyed the Air Nomad, then a girl, he stared at them in confusion for a brief moment.

“Lord Shengqi Airen!” Qishi called.

He faced the captain of the military camp and walked forward, he stood in front of the man with his chin in the air while held a military stance and saluted the captain. The first lieutenant handed Airen his bundle of toiletries and other items.

“I've heard about you, you're the nobleman from the Upper Ring who's killed eighty men in combat,” mentioned Qishi.

“I look forward to having such a valuable asset on our side,” commented Qishi.

At the same time, the Air Nomad answered Avani's question, “I came to fight for your kingdom.”

She took a step back a bit startled because she hadn't seen it beforehand but she discovered the monk was only there because of the tattoo over his left eyebrow. She gasped and pointed at his tattoo, “Of course, you were exiled from the temples that's why you're here!”

“Wait! No, it's not what you think” denied Fangzhu as he waved his arms twice in front of him to deny whatever she was going to accuse him with.

Zuqiu's eyes exchanged between the faces of both the woman and the monk he questioned both of them, “What does the tattoo mean? Why are you confrontational toward him?”

“How do we know you're not an egun or a pantu?” she insisted defensively. 

“That's the mark of the exile! They give that mark to Air Nomads who break the laws of their society, they're exiled and shunned from the air temples!” explained Avani.

“Please, it's not what you think! I was exiled for the wrong reasons, I'm a peaceful and loving man who seeks vengeance against the Omas,” informed Fangzhu as he tried to defend himself.

“Fangzhu of Ba Sing Se!” Qishi shouted.

The Air Nomad quickly answered the call for his name and jogged up to his new commanding officer. He saluted the captain and the first lieutenant, Avani tugged on Zuqiu's collar as he turned to face the line. She warned the young man, “Keep your eyes peeled on this guy, he's an exile.”

Zuqiu remained quiet and gave her a slight nod even though he thought she was a bit weird and rude. Shuaige called the next name on the list, “Muchang Zuqiu!”

The teenager ran up to the captain and saluted him and the first lieutenant, after he was given his bundle of goods he ran off behind the Air Nomad monk.

“Xinao Avani!” he called, the young woman neared the captain and the first lieutenant and saluted them both. Both of them returned a salute to the Avatar, both of the men shook her hand as a formal greeting. The first Lieutenant nodded at her, “We're glad you're here with us, Avatar.”

“You must be the one King Shuicheng sent my way, I hope the camp is to your liking. After you put away your things, come by my tent. We have matters to discuss,” mentioned Shuaige.

“I'm guessing you're the captain here?” she inquired, his head bobbed up and down then he pointed at the man next to him with his thumb and introduced him, “This is First Lieutenant Er Baoshou, he'll hand you a bundle of toiletries and your tent slip.”

The First Lieutenant handed her the bundle the others received, then he gave her a slip that contained the number that was carved into each post where assigned tents were located in. He said, “Lady Xinao, these are your things, this slip will yell to you which plot your tent will be located at. You won't be sleeping with the common rabble anyway.”

As she walked off she thought to herself, “I'm so glad they're giving me my tent. For a fenzhong, I thought I was going to be sleeping with a ton of smelly oafs.”

Omashu, Oma Kingdom

The large throne carved into crystal rested on the far wall, covered with animal skins, and cloth to make it comfortable for the King to sit on for long periods. Yeman rested on the throne his fingers intertwined with each other he rested his hands in the air while his elbows rested on the armrests of the throne. In front of the young Earth King stood several men that surrounded the front of the throne this group was known as the Court of the Clans.

The court consisted of one representative of each barbarian clan that swore allegiance to the Oma Kingdom and recognized the Kuiwu Dynasty as their rulers. To Yeman's right stood his uncle Cai Dao, the Grand Secretariat gazed upon the court while he stood tall with his arms behind his back. One of the men a bald, average-height, dark tan-skinned individual with green eyes kowtowed before Yeman.

Yeman lifted his hand as a gesture to get him to rise then he asked him, “What news do you bring to me, Sen?”

“My chieftain and those of the other four clans have amassed in northern East Hu Xin, they're awaiting orders from you to siege Laofung in Tsinghua province,” replied Sen.

“Good, I'll meet with the Triumvirate this afternoon perhaps they can work on a strategy that can win us the city,” said Yeman.

“Of course, Your Majesty. First the capital, then the rest will bend knee to us,” smiled Sen. 

When Sen backed away another stepped forward, he too kowtowed. This man had long light brown hair, was pale, and had light brown eyes. His outfit was made of expensive materials and black as the night sky, Yeman gestured him to rise after he knelt before the new sovereign.

“Taizu, I bring word from Gan, the mercenary your father hired a few months ago,” mentioned the man.

“The non-bender correct? How does he fare?” inquired the monarch.

“Gan and his men are on their way to Guandi in Zhoukou province. They've merged with a brigade sent in by one of your generals. But he feels it is not enough,” reported the representative of the Meng.

“Don't worry, Lao. My father and Commander Jun, have already deployed reinforcements to join Gan at the rendezvous point before they attack,” assured Yeman.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the endless green plains of the Zhoukou province flowed a sea of men on ostrich horses. Only a few were mounted on giant brown creatures known as badgermoles, one of those was the Meng clan barbarian, Gan. They continued on their journey south to the capital of the Zhoukou province. The breeze brushed through the empty grass that wasn't being stampeded through, a tad bit of men whistled so that the echo could be heard by Gan.

Gan covered his eyes from the sun in the center of the sky and saw what he believed to be a mudcat osprey, it glided above them in circles. Gan rose his arm and the creature nosedived before it flipped to perch onto his arm. Once it landed on his arm he pet the animal on its head, it let out a screeching squawk. The feathered creature looked mostly avian although it had unique features, the mudcat osprey had whiskers that helped it detect things underwater and also gills to breathe while in the water.

Mudcat Ospreys were largely used by the Oma Kingdom in the past three centuries of war because it was harder to intercept messages if their enemies could not catch them underwater. The creature had a large tube pack on its back, Gan opened the lid and removed the scroll from inside. He opened the message while the bird flew up to land again but this time on his left shoulder.

“Brigadier General Yun and Clan Leader Gan, this is the Honorable Major General Bu Lu, of the Triumvirate, I am sending you word from the former Earth King Kuiwu Gun and Commander Zhang Jun. I've been deployed to assist you and I bring with me my division of twenty-five thousand soldiers to lay siege to Guandi. We must burn their flags and implement our banners, take the city for our newest Earth King Kuiwu Yeman. We are meeting in the mountains above the city as it rests at the bottom of a valley. May Tian Fu and Fung Jin guide your way!”

Gan placed both his indexes at the end of the scrolled and rolled it up, tugged on the reins of his mount to signal it to strife to the left. He extended his arm out to hand it to Yun who rode only a few cun away from Gan. He took the scroll, unrolled it, and then read the contents himself, Yun turned his attention to Gan and gave him a toothy grin. They resumed on their journey once he pocketed the scroll into the pockets of his saddle.

Gan turned to his right and inquired to the man on his right, “How far are the mountains we're meeting on?”

“According to the map, we're one-hundred-and-sixty-one Li north of the Guandi mountains, sir. That's about a day away at the speed we're going,” responded the soldier.

“I'd say we're pretty close then,” nodded Gan.

At the same time, Avani lifted the tarp of Captain Qishi's meeting tent and entered. Inside she found the captain and his First Lieutenant behind a desk with maps laid on it. Captain Qishi peeped up when he saw a person enter his tent. Baoshou and Qishi saluted Avani, she then saluted them back, Baoshou began, “Just the person we were looking for.”

“I was going to have someone escort you here, Avatar Avani,” mentioned Shuaige.

“Well I'm here, do you want me to take half of your men to assault an Oma Kingdom capital? Or maybe you're sending me on a special operation to assassinate a barbarian warlord?” she inquired, she was excited to be working with the military for the first time in her life since she became a fully-realized Avatar. Most of her talents were used on special operations that were given to her by Earth King Shuicheng, she did most of his bidding outside of the city.

Both of them blinked at each other in confusion and exchanged looks before they burst out in laughter. She got upset with both men as her eyes darted to the left and right repeatedly as she frowned. Baoshou chuckled, “You thought you were going to be working WITH us? No, you're working for us!”

“I'm not sure if you interpreted what our Tianzi told you correctly,” said Shuaige.

“He told me that you were eager to work with me,” Avani replied as she recalled the meeting with the Earth King and Earth princess.

“That's not what he told us, I'll take his word over yours any day,” commented Shuaige.

“Ugh, I have to work under peons again,” muttered Avani, she seemed flustered and she rolled her eyes as every word escaped her mouth.

“What was that?” Baoshou caught on, he slightly frowned and shook his head at the rude comment the young woman made.

“Peons?!” exclaimed Shuaige, he paused for a short amount of time while he thought about his responses to the woman's words.

He resumed, “You are to strictly follow my rules and orders until we complete our mission.”

“I don't have to follow any orders, you follow mine I'm the Avatar!” sassed Avani.

“Not another word out of you, speak against my authority again and I'll make sure Shuicheng hears about you. Are we clear?” he threatened Avani with a report to the Earth King. 

She's never disobeyed Shuicheng's orders and she's not aware of what happens if someone disobeys the Earth King.  
Avani gasped then sighed she lowered her head in defeat, her title didn't override the authorization over the captain. She frowned, “Yes, Captain Qishi.”

From the outside a bell rang, Baoshou ordered her to leave, “Now get out of our sight, lunch is ready better get in line with the rest of the men.”

Baoshou and Shuaige returned their concentration to the maps again as Qishi rested his palms on the table. After she left Baoshou turned his attention to Shuaige, “You've got a live one here, Shuaige. If you allow her she'll walk all over you.”

Shuaige remained silent while he took the advice, then he bobbed his head up and down. Avani was the second in line that just formed. A smaller line ended when the soldiers grabbed their meals and headed toward the tables near their tents. Her eyes explored the surroundings of the camp, something caught her eye. What she considered a needle in a haystack, she was drawn to stare at a Fire Nationalist off in the distance.

The man gathered some things in front of his assigned tent she thought, the Air Nomad monk from earlier wasn't the only foreigner who enlisted to fight for the Haijun Kingdom. The man's outfit consisted of white pantaloons, long-sleeved white tunic under a crimson vest decorated with embroidered white flame motifs. He wore a crimson haidate, his boots were protected with wooden shinguards, on his head rested a red maishu no shikin, the difference between his and the ones commonly worn by Fire Nationalist men were the golden spikes on each side of the hat.

“Next!” called a server, but Avani ignored them because her eyes were fixated on the stranger. 

Almost like she was hypnotized by his appearance, the server shouted at her once more, “Next!”

A soldier snapped her out of her hypnotism by tapping her on her shoulder, she glanced back to see him. The soldier pointed forward she apologized to him, “Oh sorry.”

Avani neared the annoyed servers, one of them scooped millet into a bowl he handed her, while the other handed her a circular piece of bread. She grabbed her food and headed toward the tables, she looked about then saw noticed the men who she spoke to earlier. Fangzhu and Zuqiu sat across from each other while Airen sat in the corner on Fangzhu's side. Avani asked to join them, “May I?”

Fangzhu chewed on his millet and nodded while Zuqiu with his mouth full giggled and answered, “Yes!”

Zuqiu tapped the seat to his right which was empty except Avani sat in between Fangzhu and Airen instead. He smiled at her cheerfully anyway, she looked down at her food for a few miao and examined it. Avani gagged at the food, “It looks bad but it's pretty good,” mentioned Fangzhu.

Zuqiu took another spoonful and smiled, “Mmm, reminds me of home.”

“This looks like the scraps they pulled out of a farmer's compost,” she said.

“Hey! We don't eat out of the trash like a gaze of ratcoons!” squeaked Zuqiu he found her comment offensive because he was the son of a farmer. 

Airen had enough he broke in, “Humble yourself, kid. You might think you're high and mighty but here...you're just like the rest of us. If you want to march on an empty stomach? That's your choice. But leave the rest of us be.”

“I know you're not talking to me,” retorted Avani.

“Er...what was your name again?” wondered Fangzhu he attempted to deter the conversation so that it wouldn't become an argument.

“Avani,” she answered.

“Avani, I sense a cultural difference you have with your fellow Kingsmen,” speculated Fangzhu, although he felt he was grasping at straws while he attempted to read her.

“You're all part of the same leaf, just different areas of it,” he added.

“Cultural difference? I'd say more of a wealth difference,” Avani opinionated.

He sized the woman up and down, “I'd wager you're from the Upper Ring of the capital, yes?” guessed Fangzhu.

Avani nodded, then Airen remarked, “Ugh...upper-class nobility, they're always more snobby than the rest of us!”

She gasped, “Do you even know who I am?”

“With the crest on the tunic you wore while riding in here, you're of the Xinao family. I know for a fact your father will be very disappointed if he learned that you're an arrogant person when he's not around,” noted Airen.

“How do you know...my father?” she questioned him, she seemed a bit suspicious now.

“Who doesn't know Lord Xinao Jifu? Humble, respected, and admirable man, you're quite the opposite of your patriarch, our families are well acquainted, little girl,” affirmed Airen.

“I don't know who you are and don't call me a little girl,” grumbled Avani.

“Airen, son of Shengqi Yingxiong,” Airen introduced himself.

“No way...the Shengqi Yingxiong? Your father is a legend and decorated war hero! You're his son?” beamed Avani.

“Aye”, said Airen.

Avani cringed at the way she spoke to Lord Airen she knew it'd eventually bite her in the rear. She felt embarrassed she lowered her head in shame and apologized to Airen, “Please accept my apologies, Lord Shengqi, I promise to be more humble.”

Airen said nothing but inclined his head instead and continued to consume his meal. Avani stayed quiet for a moment then she turned to Zuqiu and inquired, “What's your name?”

“Muchang Zuqiu, at your service,” he introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you, I'm Avatar Avani,” she greeted him.

Zuqiu spat out his foot, chewed millet and stew sprayed onto Fangzhu's robes, with a face of disgust he disapproved of the reaction of the teenager. He blew a blast of air at his clothing and dried the stain created by his new friend. All three of the men's jaws dropped even other men who sat at other tables heard the nearby commotion. Their jaws were opened agape as well, Zuqiu placed his hand to his right and whispered to Fangzhu while he pointed at Avani, “That's the Avatar!”

“What?” she shrugged.

“We weren't expecting the Avatar to be among us, especially here in this camp. Shouldn't you be on some special Yanzhao mission?” wondered Fangzhu.

“Er...well...uh...” stammered Avani.

“...no the Tianzi sent me here,” she finished.

The others found their conversation boring and slowly returned to their meals, Avani powered down through the slop of food. The Fire Nationalist came to her mind she turned her attention to the monk, “Hey Fangzhu, at least you're not the only foreigner who's in the camp, there was a Nationalist over there not too long ago,” she pointed to the east.

“A Fire Nationalist? Here?” asked Zuqiu, the tone of his voice seemed curious.

“Yeah, he was wearing a red vest, and white tunic underneath it, with white pantaloons, and a hat on his head. You didn't see him?” she described the individual she saw in the distance not too long ago. 

All three men shook their heads, “I didn't see any Nationalists here, I've been in camp for almost two days,” declined Airen.

“The logs sure don't carry any Nationalist names that I can recall,” brought up Airen.

“Hmm...he must be napping then, or perhaps being fitted for armor?” reckoned Avani.

“We haven't been fitted for armor yet,” Airen quickly denied that surmise.  
She saw the same man briskly minced to another part of the camp, she pointed in the direction of the Nationalist and exclaimed, “There he is again!”

All three of them looked in the direction she pointed at, Fangzhu opened up, “Uhh...Avani I don't see anyone.”

“Where did you see him go?” questioned Airen.

“He went to the right,” replied Avani.

A soldier bounced near their table Zuqiu grasped at his shoulder, “Wei! I need your help,” he called to the soldier.

“You work with Captain Qishi, so you must know all the men on the list right?” demanded Zuqiu.

“I don't know all the men, but if you're implying that I know everyone who's stationed here. Then yes,” addressed Wei.

“Are these any Fire Nationalists positioned in the camp?” he wondered.

“Not that I'm aware of, no, most of the men here are Haijun Kingsmen besides your Air Nomadic friend here...oh and uh her too,” speculated Wei.

“Thanks, Wei, I knew I could rely on you,” thanked Zuqiu, he gave the soldier a toothy smile as he resumed on his way.

Zuqiu faced Avani and said, “Wei says, you're crazy.”

Council of Five War Room, Ba Sing Se, Haijun Kingdom

The War Room of the Council of Five was a large room located inside the War Quarter that was within the Royal Palace's ring. Five men surrounded a huge platform on the ground with a massive map of the world. Stone tokens painted different colors that represented ally and enemy units littered the map while others were stored away in small cubbies near every seat.

In the center of the five men were two others in the highest seat of the room sat Earth King Shuicheng, to his right sat his Grand Secretariat, Guanli. Guanli was a short, fat, quadragenarian with dark tanned-skin and brown eyes. He was bald and wore lavish golden robes with the golden sun insignia embroidered in the center of the chest area.

The general to the far left began the session he greeted both men, a sign of respect in his tone, “Welcome Your Majesty, and it is good to see you again Grand Secretariat Yuan Guanli.”

Guanli hid both of his hands inside the long sleeves of his outfit, he bowed to the leader of the Council of Five, while Shuicheng got comfortable in his seat. The Grand Secretariat returned the greetings, “Thank you, I'm feeling much better from the fever I had all week, General Taifeng.”

“What news do you have for me, Da Taifeng?” Shuicheng questioned the leader of the Council. The leader looked to his far-right and slightly nodded at the fifth seated general, to begin with, his report.

“General Weixing Shenmi, what do you report?” asked Taifeng.

General Shenmi was the youngest general of the five, he was pale-skinned, with light brown hair and green eyes, his body structure was wiry and he was hunched back. Perhaps he suffered from a spinal condition or injury that has affected his posture. The Brigadier General removed the scroll from his sash and placed it inside the cubby. He shoved it toward the Earth King with his earthbending, it slid across the map before the Earth King halted it with his palm.

Shuicheng stooped over to grab the report, then he read it as Shenmi summarized the report, “Tianzi, I have very good news while my initial plans were to invade the Oma-controlled Gongzhu. I set aside that plan and decided to move forward to attack Yu province instead.”

“What city or settlement do you intend on attacking first?” inquired Shuicheng.

“If I can work with Admiral Qi Yu to assist me with some naval forces, we can invade Bei Fu and take it back from the wild men,” suggested Shenmi. The word 'wild men' became a derogatory term against the Oma Kingsmen becoming a racial slur two centuries ago.

“I'll have my men meet the navy near Bo Sai Dong Bay on the enemy's side. I'll order the men to attack by land while the navy assaults the harbor of the city,” added Shenmi.

Shuicheng held himself in a thought, “Hmm...I will send word to Admiral Qi Yu, I'm sure a flotilla of ships will help ease the invasion.”

The Earth King dipped his quill and signed the report, then Shuicheng and Guanli clutched their stamps and pressed down on the parchment. Their stamps were the final approval for any action that could be executed. He handed it to Guanli who placed it in his cubby, for safekeeping he would later hand it to the archivists inside the palace to be recorded into the books.

“General He You, you're next what's the news?” Shuicheng asked the fourth general seated.

A fat septuagenarian rose out of his chair, he was short and plump, the old man was pale, and donned long gray flowing hair and a long beard. His eyes were light green and just like the others, he wore the uniform of a councilmember. The pin on his chest that was given only to the Council of Five glistened in the sunlight as it set behind the walls.

“We've gained control of Bai Shui and taken the entire province of Jintai, I've lost a few thousand men but the rest have their morales elevated. They're ready for more,” briefed General You.

“Wonderful news!” beamed Shuicheng he applauded the general, his other colleagues, and the Grand Secretariat looked at each other and all stood up to give the general a standing ovation.

“Where do you plan to head off to next?” wondered the Earth King.

“Yang province, while Foping is in the center it is also farther away from Minghua and Han Tui's assistance. We'll crush their defenses in a matter of days before reinforcements can arrive to stop us. By then I'd hope to establish a temporary governor,” explained You He.

“Do you need more additions?” asked Shuicheng.

“Not at the moment, we do have strength in numbers still, perhaps we can continue to conquer forts and set up positions in each one. If we can control the state first it will give us an advantage over the capital,” declined the Major General then resumed his words.

Shuicheng faced to the right of his Grand Secretariat, this man was muscular, of average height, a tan-skinned quadragenarian with dark brown hair and a dark green eye, his other was blinded from a battle wound. He spoke to the Lieutenant-General, “General Ningjing Lin, it is always great to see you what do you have for me today?”

He rose from his seat and gave his report, “Governor Luyou has reported to me that his scouts have seen heavy activity of enemy barbarian clans and a small army that follows behind them. He's calling it a cause for concern.”

“What's the size of the group?” worried Shuicheng.

“I was told about the size of a small legion, Governor Bei's numbers are spread thin and I don't know if you were made aware but he lent over ten thousand men to help defend Duru province. Those men haven't returned yet but I hear they were victorious. I fear they'll be too late by the time the invaders arrive,” replied General Ningjing.

“Send word to deploy two regiments of a thousand soldiers, I pray to Tiandi that the rest of the men return on time to help turn the tide on the battle. You'll need it,” approved Shuicheng.

“General Shili Liehou, what do you have for us today?” Shuicheng questioned the second seat general to his left.

The tall quinquagenarian rose to his feet, his hair was white, his skin was white, and the irises of his eyes were pink with a tint of blue. The Colonel General was an albino man, he was slender and wiry, often soldiers would spend a fenzhong or two staring at him. But he didn't care he served his country for decades he was respected nothing random recruits could say that would bother him. 

The Colonel-General grinned, “I've been meeting with Governor Guodong in Laofung, we have the manpower to take on the coalition of Wulong, and the two Hu Xin provinces. We're just waiting on them to attack.”

“Your eagerness to spill blood excites me, General Shili. If you need more men you only need to say the word. How many do you expect to turn up?” he questioned the general.

“Word has it there are clans that have assembled, a large enough army to take part of the city, but it is not enough. I heard rumors that the military is having issues with its commanding officers. The slave soldiers won't fight, something that will bite the Oma King in the juhua,” speculated General Liehou.

“Then if you succeed in defending Laofung, you should work toward finding the locations of the slave soldiers and lay waste to the area. We need to rescue those prisoners of war,” suggested Shuicheng.

“We know the location, the underground city of Garsai, Your Majesty. It'd be great to have Garsai under our control again, my family is from the East Hu Xin province. Those mu zhu are desecrating my city,” revealed General Shili.

“General Da Taifeng, you are the final general whose yet to share anything. What word do you bring me?” requested the Earth King.

“I'm working on amassing an army large enough to attack Ta Ren, we must regain control of Ru and prevent the barbarians access into the Haijun Kingdom. There is a company of men in northern Pingyao that will later merge into the union. For now, I will use them to operate smaller missions in Ru province,” reported Taifeng.

“Ahh yes, I've sent Avatar Avani to the camp in northern Pingyao, you have a great asset in your hands. Use the power of the Avatar wisely, General Da,” grinned Shuicheng.

“I plan to use her effectively, the border towns in Pingyao speak of a warlord who forced his way across one of the checkpoints between Ru and Pingyao. The scouts say he's set himself up in the southwestern region of Pingyao. I'll send the recruits under Captain Qishi to eliminate him and his clan soon,” finished General Taifeng.

Avani slept inside a medium-sized tent that was given to her by Captain Qishi, the olive green tarp kept her warm from the temperatures of the outside. She was wrapped inside the bedroll and the blanket as added warmth. A few toiletries were gathered in the farthest corner of the tent, as she slumbered safely a shadow loomed over her body.

Her eyes slightly opened she thought she had been dreaming, she imagined that her blanket had slipped off, she shivered like she was cold. She saw the figure of Jifu tucking her in when her eyes focused Jifu's face warped into the face of an unknown man. The Fire Nationalist she saw twice earlier today stood over her, he was pale-skinned, bald, amber-eyed, and had a black strip of hair on his chin. The stranger's smile looked friendly and creepy, the corners of his mouth stretched from ear to ear.

Her eyes widen in fear, she shrieked so loud that she blasted the intruder and her tent with air, her body tore through the floor of the inner tent. It rocketed in the air and collapsed when it hit the ground. A number of her tent neighbors exited their tents alerted to the commotion the Avatar caused, she tacked the tarp of the tent to search for the Fire Nationalist but he was gone, men encircled her as she wrestled with the tarp. Three of them carried lit torches in their hand and gave her dirty looks.

“What's going on out here? I heard you scream,” one of the men questioned the woman, he seemed a bit disgruntled and annoyed he was tired and wanted to head back to bed.

“Th-there was a m-man in my tent!” she claimed, her voice shook with fear.

“Were any of you near her?” another's head darted to face all the men that surrounded Avani. 

All seven men shook their heads at the man who questioned them. Captain Qishi was awoken by another soldier, Shuaige rubbed his eyes, he felt groggy he approached the Avatar and demanded an answer from her, “Avani, what's going on? I was told you shrieked and ran out of your tent!”

“I already told them, there was a man in my tent!” she repeated.

“What man? What did he look like?” he blurted out.

“He was a Fire Nationalist, he was wearing all white, with a red vest, a haidate, and a red hat. I saw him earlier in the mid-afternoon during lunch too! Don't you people interview everyone who enlists so they don't turn out to be potential se gui?!” Avani described her attacker and then implored Shuaige with another question.

Captain Qishi rubbed his eyes again then declined, “A Fire Nationalist? We don't have any Fire Nationalists here!”

“Then he had to be an intruder! I would expect a military camp to have tighter security than a Kingsmen finger trap!” complained Avani.

Shuaige was irritated, he clenched his teeth and growled, “Search the camp for a Fire Nationalist, if found I want the intruder killed!”

All the men ran in different directions in pairs of two as they scoured the camp for the Nationalist intruder that attacked the Avatar. Shuaige looked at her then away, “Now goodnight, we have training in the morning!”

The captain padded away from her Avani grabbed the parts of her tent to set it back up, she entered the tent and organized her things in the areas they were first placed in. She rested her head on the bedroll and stared at the ceiling for the tent for a brief moment. Avani turned her head and laying right next to her was the Fire Nationalist.

She couldn't scream this time because the Nationalist covered her mouth, he hushed her then whispered, “If you scream they'll assume you're crying wolfbat. I'm a friend.”

Avani's other hand rested to her side hidden, it heated up with fire, she was ready to incinerate the creep. She blinked for a miao and then the pervert was gone as he disappeared out of thin air. Avani sat up and scanned the interior of the tent, confused she exited and skulked the exterior of it. By now, the men had returned from searching the entire camp and found nothing. 

Some of the reported to Captain Qishi, “Sir, there is no intruder and if there was she scared him off! But look...” paused the soldier as he pointed at Avani as she treaded around the tent's exterior.

Shuaige facepalmed, shook his head, and sighed, “Keep a close eye on the Avatar, watch her tent and make sure no one gets near it. She's going to need her energy for tomorrow,” ordered Shuaige.

The men saluted their superior and everyone went their separate ways, Avani looked through every nook and cranny in her spot. She entered her tent again and sat down in nomadic position and lowered her head. Across from her manifested a large Tribesman in ethereal form, he was muscular, tall, brown-skinned, he had black hair and cyan-colored eyes, his goatee was a black vertical strip under his lower lip. He wore a dark blue parka, navy blue pants, brown walrus bear boots, whale blubber gloves, and on his head he wore a blue-dyed leathered wushenka hat. The interior and the trim of the hat was made from the fur of a polar bear dog. It was her predecessor, Avatar Keirou.

“Avatar Avani, we meet again what can I assist you with today?” he questioned his successor.

“I think I'm being spooked by a ghost,” she answered.

“A ghost? A spirit of the deceased usually indicates that they require help from you,” explained Keirou.

“Have you attempted to communicate with this person's spirit?” asked Keirou.

“Well...no, the first time I met them was from a distance and the second encounter happened while I was in my tent sleeping,” replied Avani.

“Everyone in the camp thinks I'm crazy, I keep seeing that Fire Nationalist but they haven't seen him...he leaves without a trace,” she added.

“Describe the appearance of this individual,” requested her past life.

“He wore all white, with a red tunic, a haidate, and a red hat with yellow spikes on it,” described the Avatar.

Keirou sat on the description he gave her about the soul that haunted her all day today, then it clicked in his head he warned her about this particular spirit though, “No Avani, whatever you do stay away from him.”

“Wait what's wrong?” she wondered with concern.

“This happens with every succ-” Keirou tried to answer her question except he dispersed into a cloud of celestial mist. The mist remained and then formed into a smaller more slender shape, it manifested into the Fire Nationalist that spooked her twenty fenzhong earlier.

“You! What do you want?” she demanded the intruding spirit.

“Wow, I didn't think that would work,” he muttered to himself, he forced himself through the veil that Avani created to speak with Keirou. This ghost forced Avatar Keirou out to speak with Avani, then he said, “I'm here to help you.”

“And in return, I hope you can help me too,” he added.

“I'm Avatar Hansuke by the way,” he introduced himself.

“Hansuke? How can you manifest yourself without me summoning you?” she inquired her estranged past life.

“Ehh I found my methods, I can be here alongside you even when the solstice is far away. Most spirits outside the Avatar can do so as well usually depends on spiritual energies and all that flapdoodle,” explained Hansuke. He wriggled his fingers to gesture otherworldly energies.

“Help me do what exactly?” she questioned him.

“Aid you in becoming a better Avatar of course, plus you need someone to receive advice from and who better than me?” hypothesized Avatar Hansuke.

“Isn't it tradition the previous Avatar assists the successor unless they don't have the answers?” Avani inquired, she felt uneasy about this encounter with the invasive predecessor. Hansuke did not answer because he imploded into a cloud of smoke. The smoke cloud returned its shape into the large Tribesman Avatar before her.

“Avatar Avani I hope you accept my advice when I tell you to stay away from Avatar Hansuke, not only has his influence ruined his own life but also his slopiness and his idiocy led to the death of his successor Avatar Kavi,” finished Keirou.

Avatar Keirou disappeared again, and Hansuke reappeared, “Hey! I wasn't even done how dare he interrupt me!” complained Hansuke.

“Stay away from me!” hissed Avani.

“You're bad news!” she growled.

She ended the commune with her past life, then she laid back down, she irritably grabbed her blanket and pulled it over herself. At the same time, Hansuke frowned and sat there speechless as he watched her go to sleep, he poofed out of thin air again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Chi is 'feet' in Chinese.  
> * A baihu is a white tiger of Chinese mythology.  
> * Shuaige Qishi in Chinese means "man, hero, knight".  
> * Baoshou Er in Chinese means "second-in-command".  
> * The Crystalline Throne during the Zu Dynasty still exists in barbarian controlled Oma Kingdom.  
> * Sen means "forest" in Cantonese.  
> * The Triumvirate of War is similar to the Council of Five, its ran by three generals and a commander. Technically, its a Quadumvirate.  
> * Lao means "sturdy" in Cantonese.  
> * Regular soldiers of the Oma Kingdom ride on ostrich horses, while commanding officers use badger moles.  
> * A mudcat osprey is a mix between a catfish and an osprey, the perfect messenger bird as it can fly and swim.  
> * Yun means "inner strength" in Cantonese.  
> * Bu Lu means "division, major" in Cantonese.  
> * Jun Zhang means "army commander" in Cantonese.  
> * Millet and biscuits are meals that soldiers up to the Qing Dynasty ate while out on tour.  
> * Ratcoon is a mix between a rat and a raccoon.  
> * Yingxiong means "hero" in Chinese.  
> * Yingxiong is Airen's father.  
> * A Fire Nationalist, is a citizen of the Fire Nation the reigning ethnic group is called this in my AU. Similar to what they're called in canon, this was the term I used before "Fire National" was introduced in Shadow of Kyoshi.  
> * A Earth Kingsman, a citizen of the Earth Kingdoms, however, depending on the kingdom they're from in-universe they're called a Haijun Kingsman or Oma Kingsman.  
> * Guanli Yuan means "administrator" in Chinese.  
> * Taifeng Da is the leader of the Council of Five, he is the General of the Haijun Army. His name means "great typhoon" in Chinese.   
> * Liehou Shili is the name of the Colonel General, he is the second general his name means "raging fire, strength" in Chinese.   
> * Lin Ningjing is the name of the Lieutenant General he is the third general his name means "tranquil, forest" in Chinese.  
> * You He is the name of the Major General he is the fourth general his name means "coursing river" in Chinese.   
> * Shenmi Weixing is the name of the Brigadier General, he is the fifth general his name means "mysterious moon" in Chinese.  
> * All five generals names are inspired from the song "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" from the movie Mulan.  
> * General Liehou Shili is the first albino character in the KBHverse, and he might not be the last.   
> * Admiral Qi Yu is the name of one of the admirals under the Fleet Admiral of the Haijun Kingdom. His name means "swordfish" in Chinese.  
> * Bei Luyou (Bay Lee Yo) is the name of the Governor of the Zhoukou province who is seated in the capital of Guandi. His name means "shell, tourism" in Chinese, Guandi's known for the shellfish that is sold there and tourist spots around the capital and the province.  
> * Liu Guodong is the name of the Governor of the Tsinghua province who is seated in the capital of Laofung. His name means "sulfur, jelly" in Chinese, Laofung has sulfur mines and they harvest the natural wax that comes from hummingbees. Used to manufacture blasting jelly.   
> * Hummingbees are a mix of bumble bees and humming birds, and they're the size of house cats.  
> * Bo Sai Dong Bay in means "Poseidon's Bay", in 654 BG, it still holds its name.  
> * Some Earth Kingdom cities were underground, what better way to introduce Garsai as underground city. Although this isn't confirmed to be canon.  
> * Avatar Hansuke is unique compared to the other lives because he can pop in and out of the physical world at will without being summoned by Avani. His name means "Japanese eel" in Japanese.  
> * Avatar Hansuke appears in the season finale of Book 1 Air in the Legend of Korra.  
> * Avatar Hansuke's cause of death will be revealed eventually.  
> * He killed Avatar Kavi with his shitty advice, Kavi is an Air Avatar prior to Arnav who was mentioned in the prologue. His name means "wise man, poet" in Hindi, Kavi was a renowned poet of his time.  
> * "Nomadic position" is sitting down lotus style but I didn't know the proper name of it. So it stuck.  
> * A wushenka hat is Ushenka but in Chinese.


	5. Of Conquerors and Guardians Part 1: The Siege of Laofung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the civil war progresses, cities are sieged and live to see another day while others fall and are taken by force; Avani is just getting settled into the military camp, although she already has a reputation of being crazy. Today's the first day the recruits are trained in the Haijunese art of war.

The morning sun beamed inside Avani's tent; the bright radiance disturbed her. She squinted her shut eyes and groaned, unhappy that the sun woke her up. She hadn't gotten much sleep over the scare she had last night. Just as she slowly sat up, she felt groggy, and her vision was blurred. In front of her tent facing the other direction was the invasive past life she met yesternight. He sat meditating; she let out a soft yelp as she covered her mouth to not alert anyone nearby. They already thought she was crazy; Avani questioned the spirit, "Wh-what are you doing here?!"

"I thought I told you to gun kai!" she exclaimed.

"A good meditation in the morning helps you concentrate, young earthbender. Maybe you should try it sometime," responded Hansuke. He ignored her when she told him to get lost not too long ago.

"Did you not hear what I just said?" she repeated herself. Avatar Hansuke took a gander at the irritated Avatar staring blankly.

She drawled the words out slower for him, "Gun...Kai!"

The heavyset Air Nomad yawned as he passed by her tent. He heard the foul mouth of the young woman. He paused for a brief moment and called out to her concerned, "Uhh...Avani?"

From inside, she froze in her place she wasn't quiet enough, and someone heard, the round shadow that blocked the sunlight continued with their inquiry, "Are you okay in there?"

"Good morning, Fangzhu," greeted the girl from inside the tent. She ignored his question. Her tone seemed a tad bit annoyed at someone. But he wasn't sure if it was with him because he disturbed her morning rituals or if indeed someone was inside the tent with her.

"Who were you talking to before I showed up?" he asked her.

"No one..." Avani sighed then said, "You wouldn't understand Fangzhu."

They both heard the bell rung by the mess hall servers. It was time for breakfast. Fangzhu shuffled away upon the bell's second ring; at this point, several men crawled out of their tents sheepishly. Some had already zoomed there and waited in line for their food. Zuqiu stretched and yawned as he appeared and stood in line. The young man smacked his lips while the nobleman behind him did some push-ups while he awaited his turn.

More men showed up for breakfast while the Avatar dressed inside her tent. She exited her tent and tied her hair into a bun. She headed for the mess hall area then found herself last in line. What made the experience even worse she was behind one of the soldiers who refused to bathe since he came to the camp. He stunk of rancid garbage; Avani pinched her nose the second the smell made her feel queasy.

She assumed to herself, "Isn't there a grooming rule here where you need to bathe daily? This guy reeks of week-old meat!"

"Really? I think he smells like lavender," commented a voice behind her.

"Smells like lavender?" she blurted out; she spun around to face the person behind her. She took a step back, frightened when she saw Hansuke right behind her.

Avani bumped into the soldier in front of her, the man turned around, "You think I smell like lavender? By Tiandi's beard, I was not expecting such a wonderful compliment!"

"What? No! Ugh!" she growled in denial.

"It was...him!" she pointed to Hansuke; he glimpsed behind her but saw no one. He expressed a face of confusion; there was no one there. She muttered to herself, "Gods, please help me! He's making me seem like I'm crazy!"

The line shrunk further, and eventually, she was at the front. The servers gave her a bowl with millet, and that's what she ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. After she received her meal, she joined her new friends. Not even a second after she sat down, Zuqiu brought up last night, "So the word is around camp is that you had an intruder in your tent last night."

Avani lowered her head in embarrassment and sighed, "I knew this would come back to bite me in the rear. Yeah..." she paused.

"What of it?" she said.

"No, nothing, I just heard the rumor and wanted to know if you were okay," he answered.

"Who was in your tent this morning, Avani?" bugged Fangzhu.

Airen chewed on his millet and said nothing but continued to listen in on the conversation. Avani made an excuse and lied to the Air Nomad, "I swear to Yun, it wasn't anyone. I was having...a dream."

She thought the soldiers wouldn't understand; a familiar voice to her right asked her, "Why do you have to lie to them? Just tell them the truth, Avani."

Her head darted to the right, and she hissed, "I'm not lying to them!"

Airen, Zuqiu, and Fangzhu halted their chewing and stared at her; the Air Nomad broke the silence inquired, "Lying to us about what? Why are you deflecting the conversation?"

Avani slammed her eating utensil on the table; she gritted her teeth in anger, then lifted herself off the table and stomped away.

"Jeez, what's gotten into her?" wondered Zuqiu.

Fangzhu shrugged. Airen whistled, then used both of his indexes and middle fingers and separated them away from one another. This was a familiar gesture to indicate that someone was a bit loopy. Airen said, "Today'sToday's going to be a long day for her. First, she's arguing with herself, now on an empty stomach on a training day? Yikes!"

Laofung, Tsinghua province, Haijun Kingdom

A massive army waited hidden about five to six li away from the towering walls of the great city Laofung. Tents and bonfires were strewn about the long stretch of land that surrounded the capital city. About thirty ma from where they settled was the border between the Tsinghua province to the north and the East Hu Xin province to the South. For the past year-and-a-half, the Oma Kingdom has attempted its best to contest the region. But their progression has been thwarted by crucial operations from the Yanzhao.

Some men closer to the border ransacked merchant caravans and slaughtered the Haijunese traders when they refused to submit. The bodies were left to rot and become pickings to carrion birds and scavengers. What goods were taken sustained the individuals who stole from the carts. Killing the vendors was to prevent the city from knowing they were near.

The slave soldiers wore no armor at all; they were stripped bare to their uniforms and held in chains by men riding on the backs of tamed Rhino Rams. Large pack animals with curved horns on the sides of their heads and a sharp horn on its snout. There had to be at least be forty men riding these beasts, each pulling a line of twenty-five slave fighters. A significant number of the slaves fainted due to exhaustion, one of the riders barked, "Get up! You don't have the right to rest, you filthy, insolent animals!"

He hopped off his mount and grabbed his whip. He began to whip the first few slaves. The searing pain from the strikes of whip woke some of them up from their resting state. A short, bald, burly, dark tan-skinned quinquagenarian with jade green-colored eyes and a long mustache that twirled at the ends entered the big tent where he convened with his subordinates.

He and three others surrounded a table made of earth; each commanding officer will manage their own division. All three were colonels given authorization by the Lieutenant-General to lead groups of thirteen-thousand soldiers.

"What are you planning, General Bu Lu?" questioned one of the men.

"I was going to have you attack head-on, but sources inside the city say the Provincial Guard isn't big enough to defend the city. We can take them on," answered the Lieutenant-General.

"I've hatched an idea in my head, we split the fifty-one-thousand men, into four groups each of you will command twelve-thousand-seven-hundred-and-fifty men," he resumed.

"Look...here, here, over there, and this spot here..." he pointed at as he dipped his brush into the inkpot and marked each one.

"This first point is mine, but you three will split into the north, west, and east. This will overwhelm them; when I mentioned, they don't have enough men, I meant it. Now let the blood flow!" finished Bu Lu.

His eyes dashed to the left and right when he asked his juniors, "Do you have a sufficient amount of artillery and siege weapons?"

All of the colonels nodded, the short older general smiled, "Well then, let us begin!"

Simultaneously, Colonel-General Shili and Governor Guodong stood across from each other in front of a table with a map pinned to it. However, they didn't expect a battle to commence soon. They have seen increased activity from scout briefings. The small structure they found themselves in was a war room for Governor Guodong. He attended meetings with General Liehou ever since he took a seat in the Council of Five.

The map that rested on the table was a chart of the province of Tsinghua, with a smaller plan nearby detailing everything within the city's walls. Markers were placed on the maps; the gray ones on the southern half of the map were the invasion forces. While the golden pieces were the defending armies of Laofung. The crest of the elephanda was embroidered on the governor's hanfu, the light tan-skinned man with a black topknot and a dangpo jin headdress on his head cleaned his spectacles with his purple robes to see clearer. Before he placed them back over his jade-colored eyes, he looked up to the general sent by the Earth King. The albino Colonel-General lips moved but emitted no sound; The general called out to him as, for some reason, he seemed to be focused on other matters, "Governor."

"Huh?" he fixated his gaze on the general again, "My apologies, I've been daydreaming about other things today," apologized the governor.

Liehou repeated his question, "How many Provincial Guard do you have stationed in the city?"

"About forty-thousand men, we also have the militia, but that's only about five-hundred civilian soldiers," answered Guodong.

"That may just be enough to defend the city anyway, I have my men spread all across the region. But I did plan ahead and have requested for extra twenty-thousand men coming this way. I don't think they're needed though, we should be able to do this," commented Shili.

"I'll send orders to keep the militia in their homes then; the Provincial Guard should be able to handle this," added Guodong. The Colonel-General hovered his hand over the chart. The pieces below trembled and lifted up. Each stone marker equaled one division or thirteen-thousand three-hundred-and-thirty soldiers.

"Why don't we deploy a battalion of men from the southern gates, and behind them a line of trebuchets?" suggested Guodong.

"Hmm..." muttered Shili, his hand rested on his chin as he rubbed the right side of it with his index. He continued his response, "I like that idea, but I thi-" he was interrupted by the ominous banging of a watchtower's drums.

He quickly headed out of the war room to the outside, the short, plump governor right behind him. When they set foot in the courtyard, guards ran to their governor's sides and grabbed him. The beating of the drums was louder outside of the small building. The men clenched their hands on their leader's shoulders and shouted, "Sir! Invaders are assaulting the capital from the east!"

"They're attacking?! They're attacking! We didn't have enough time!" he screamed his head off.

"Take him to his bunker, I'm taking over from here on out!" barked General Liehou.

The southern gates nearest to the governor's siheyuan were rocked by projectiles. The walls felt the shockwaves from the big rocks that hit the first set of gates. The loud banging of the alarms drowned out the panicked screams of women running with their children to safety. Citizens ran off in random directions as the nobles hurried to their own underground bunkers. 

An estate guard approached the Colonel-General and gave him a bird with a message. The bird was hurled into the sky; the creature soared through the air and headed north. Ten minutes later, the second-in-command, a lieutenant-general stationed in Laofung, raised his arm to gesture to the beast it was safe to perch on his arm. After reading the message, he heard the watchtowers in the War Center repeat the safe beat sequence as all the others.

Men ran to their barracks to prepare for war, Shili rushed to the War Center on ostrich horseback. Four divisions of men stood in standard formations. Their orders were made aware weeks before as the new military exercises were cemented in their minds. The colonel-general shouted, "Remember that not all of you will return from this siege. May Yama lead you to the afterlife, brothers! Now defend your home!"

The four divisions split, each of them headed north, east, south, and west. The alarms of the north began to ring, "They're attacking the northern gates; we can't let them in," shouted General Shili.

He mounted an ostrich horse and headed to toward the southern gates. Clouds of smoke engulfed the walls. The city guard rushed the citizens into their homes and joined estate guards in doubling patrols around nobles' domain.

Meanwhile, General Bu Lu watched the entire invasion from the rendezvous point. The twelve-thousand-seven-hundred-and-fifty soldiers that marched in from the north set up their first round of attacks. The colonel watched as his artillerymen dropped boulders into the pockets of the trebuchets. He raised his left arm into the air and waited for the right moment, the defenders rushed onto the walls. One of them stumbled on the stairs while the others sprinted up them to reach the top.

The men got right to work and loaded their cannons with cannonballs, the northern colonel swung his arm down, the engineers slammed their meteorite hammers onto the levers. Each trebuchet launched its projectile, a line of the twenty flew in their trajectory paths, only a few hitting the wall successfully. While others exploded as they hit the ground, crumbling to bits and pieces for the benders. The invaders ran for the walls while others pushed fire carts toward the gates.

These were wooden carts full of blasting jelly explosives, safeguarded by a body shield of iron with a slot near the top for the driver to view their path. However, two men were guarding alongside the fire carts. A flash of lights sparkled from the top of the walls, ringing the ears of the men below. Cannonballs struck their mark while a small number of them plummeted to the earth. Half of the front two lines of explosive carts blew up, killing anyone nearby in a ten yingchi radius. 

While the cannonballs fired, three counter-projectiles slammed into the wall, another making a dent in the northern ramparts' defenses. Two went over the wall, and one crushed five men on it, while a cart driver reached the gates. His hands shook as he was filled with anxiety. He dropped his spark rocks and picked them up before rubbing the stones together to throw sparks onto a torch. He tossed the torch at the cart and ran for his life.

A volley of arrows was sent off by wall archers when they arrived, the storm took down men, impaling them to the ground. While the cart exploded, trebuchets launched their boulders and caused a piece of the lower-left gate to be blown off. Behind the second set of wooden gates that held off the intruders were eight-thousand troops with a few earth sages that padded calmly through their lines as they blessed the guardians.

Young and old, novice and experienced soldiers stood firm; some were nervous, others ready and battle-hardened. Fortifications shook, the men behind the walls saw flashes of light from the outside take over the skies above. The colonel swung his arm down again, another load of boulders soared through the air. The boulders cut through the barrage of arrows, only a bit of them getting through. The arrows that made it through broke when they collided with armor, some killed their targets or wounded them, and the rest hit the ground or were blocked by shields or weapons. The projectiles crashed into the northern ramparts once more, another fire cart is shoved into the first gates with earthbending.

The northern front gates parted down the middle, the right gate detached from its hinges producing an echoing thud. The first gates of the western walls were falling apart after they caught fire from a rocket. A platoon of twenty earthbenders rushed in with a long ram made of earth, bombardiers and archers lined the inner-ramparts. They carried linen sacks filled to the brim with iron-casted balls with wicks at the end of each one. 

After using a torch to light wicks, they dropped the bombs below, the slave soldiers protected the barbarians that lifted the ram. A bomb went dud, the man who threw it facepalmed while those below guffawed in laughter. While they mocked the novice defender, it shredded the men in the front and a small number of slave soldiers. One of the barbarian's screams of agony rung in the ears of the archers on the inner-ramparts; He stilled lived, but he was dying of blood loss. His arm severed and shredded to bits by the shrapnel bomb.

Five earthbenders outside the gates lined to the right and left the gates where they couldn't be detected. They ran in rose walls that blocked the bombardiers to buy time to allow their brothers-in-arms to advance. One of the bombardiers attempted to throw a shrapnel bomb, but a wall covering the openings blocked it. Several men squealed in fear as another grabbed it and placed it inside the barrel of his cannon. The sound was muted by the cannon's barrel—a sigh of relief and a wipe of their foreheads.

"Collapse the walls and drop incendiary and flash bombs!" screamed one of the men. The walls cracked from the inside and crumbled—large pieces falling on the men below, causing injury and at least two deaths. 

The earthbenders pushed forward, ignoring the destruction of the defending walls, "Heave!" the leader yelled.

In unison, the others shouted, "Ho!"

The gates shook, but it wasn't enough to bust the second gates open. While the city guard lacked military-experienced, they were ordered by the Captain of the City Guard to join ranks with the Provincial Guard, increasing the numbers of defenders in the city. Meanwhile, men who sat like turtle ducks in the War Center prepared one-hundred horned condors for battle. These were going to be used to thin the herd who broke the fortifications and barricades.

In the east, the front gates caved in on each other; a cloud of dust and smoke filled the hall that led to the second set of gates. The men on the right dropped flash bombs to blind their attackers while the men on the left ignited and hurled shrapnel shells. The barbarians were blinded by sudden flashes all around them; they didn't last long when the shrapnel tore them apart. Thirty men fell to the shells, but like ants with food, thirty more filled their spots.

Their replacers stepped over the corpses of their shield brothers. One of the recruits tripped over a corpse and fell next to another face-to-face. The fallen barbarian's face was unrecognizable. The young soldier began to cry as he wailed hysterically. Another shrapnel bomb is tossed near the private, but a bold warrior shield slammed the shell, deflecting it back at its original tosser.

The explosive killed half the archers and bombardiers inside the inner-rampart, caving in a portion of the roof as well. The battering ram moved in, a flare from the right side went off, archers ran on the walls' rooftops. They began to pelt arrows in the halls filled with savage warriors, the young man continued to cry on the ground. As bodies fell next to him, a barbarian hit by an arrow in the lung collapsed near him. The warrior released a tear as he extended his hand out to the young man signaling for aid.

A glaive tosser rolled near the busted gates at an angle, the lever was pushed to the opposite end. The machine hurled a large iron arrow at the left side of the halls, puncturing the rampart barrier. Benders ripped the large arrow out of the wall, resulting in the walkway toppling on itself. The bombardiers and archers that positioned themselves there fell from a great height. Their enemies rushing in for the kill, an archer on the left roof released a flare. This signaled the archers nearby to use incendiary arrows.  
On the westside, soldiers shoved a fire cart toward the gates when an arrow hit it. Suddenly, the driver and the two men by his side were blown into smithereens. A line of cannons fired off into the field, barricades fortified trenches that hid land mines scattered inside. The first barricades were crushed by a bender; his shield brothers jumped down into the trenches to avoid cannon fire. Much to their regret, they were immediately blown to bits.

"Watch out for the landmines!" yelled the western colonel. 

Unfortunately, this was his final line because a cannonball took his head clean off his fresh corpse. His junior officer gave an ear-splitting shriek as he witnessed the death of his superior. Then he barked orders to fire cart drivers that hadn't left yet, "Take benders with you to close the trenches and rush the gates with the carts!"

Arrows propelled through the air, hitting the body shields fastened to fire carts, one of the drivers panted as he hurried his cart to the gates. The skies turned blue to shades of orange and dark gray as a storm of arrows and cannonballs showered from the heavens. Enemies were pelted with fire arrows and iron balls, one of the cannonballs split a shield in half and took down the shieldbearer with it. Knocking the wind out of the warrior and breaking his ribs. Healers dashed to him and dragged him away to the infirmary.

"Lather the boulders with oil and light them!" the lieutenant-colonel ordered.

All of the engineers nodded, and the rest soon copied. A cannonball dismantled one of the trebuchets. As two fire carts neared, one of them rolled over a landmine, and both of them incinerated in a few miao. Volleys from the left and right walls fell toward the southern battlefield, as some projectiles made it over the walls. Crashing into buildings and landing in the courtyards of noblemen. One of them almost crushed some men, but the earthbender imploded it into a cloak of dust.

The second eastern gates that separated the Oma Kingsmen and the Haijun Kingsmen broke open. The benders dropped their battering ram and rushed in. The Laofung guard roared and charged into battle as their enemies overflowed into the Market District. The clashing and slashing of steel could be heard for many yingchi as weapons collided and parried against each other and cut through armor and flesh. The twangs of bows echoed from the roofs above, while bones were broken by blunt weapons. Rockets fired from the second floors of some restaurants in the area eliminating smaller numbers of invaders. 

Somewhere in northern Pingyao

Avani stood side by side amongst several of her shield brothers lined up in groups of twenty soldiers. They formed rectangles and in front were First Lieutenant Er Baoshou and Captain Qishi Shauige. The two groups in front of Captain Qishi were compiled of earthbenders. The two to the left of Qishi's were in front of First Lieutenant Er, made up of non-benders and Fangzhu, despite being a bender.

Both men announced the rules to troops, "Every day you will wake up and line up in these formations, forty benders, and forty warriors. You will stand idle, with your hands at your sides and in silence. In these first few days, we will focus on making sure you know the formations of battle. Because in three months, you will join the main armies here in the region."

"If you fail basic formations, then we have no use for you," finished Shuaige.

"We are organized; we are not like the barbaric savages of the Oma Kingdom. They are unorganized, disordered armies are defeated armies!" Baoshou added.

"I will be training the benders, while the First Lieutenant will concentrate on the warriors," said Shuaige.

"Warriors! Here are three barrels full of wooden staves to my left. Each one of you will take one for training. I will show you how to properly wield a weapon and how to use one offensively and defensively. I hope that by the end of today you will know how to wield a staff and have a proper stance!" shouted Baoshou.

Some warriors encircled one of the barrels, "Halt! I didn't say you could go!" yelled the First Lieutenant. He pointed to the men who froze in formations. The ones who ran to the barrels felt humiliated. They returned once they were all settled. He then said, "Now you can go!"

At the same time, Shuaige paced to his left and to his right as he gazed upon all the troops' faces. Avani being front and center with Airen, the last one on the right of the second row. He further announced, "We're going to show you some military forms of earthbending. Whatever you've learned from earthbending academy, you can throw out the window."

Avani questioned the Captain, "I'm already a master, why do I need to learn this?"

Shuaige walked up to her breaking her personal space, and repeated himself, "Whatever you've learned in earthbending academy, you can throw out the window."

She remained silent and then thought to herself, "That's fine, I'll just outshine you in training."

The warriors all held a staff in between both hands and waited in their formations. Baoshou had his and demonstrated while he instructed, "Alright men, the first move we're going to learn will strengthen your hands."

"This will also improve your muscle memory and serve as blocking. Follow my movements we're going to twirl the staff," Baoshou resumed as he slowly twirled the stick in front of the soldiers for all to see. As he repeated the process, he sped himself a bit and spun faster and faster. The men copied their superior, as did Fangzhu. However, he was far more experienced than the rest as he learned to do this back at the Baiyan Air Temple.

Baoshou glimpsed over to the airbender, he stopped himself and pointed at him, "Look over at our Nomadic friend; he's spinning it with ease."

"Thank you, I've trained with staves for decades of my life," smiled the Air Nomad.

Some of the ones with the attention spans of squirrel rats ceased their spinning and watched the Air Nomad. While others returned to the exercise, he spun it on his back then rolled it onto his head's crown. Jumping, the staff turned again, and then he caught it with his hands as he resumed the exercise.

"I didn't tell you to stop!" he shouted to the distracted men.

"My arms hurt," drawled a recruit.

Shuaige yelled at the benders, "I know you slackers know the basic form, the Ma Kiu, or ostrich horse stance!"

The benders quickly shifted in the basic stance and widened their legs apart. Avani yawned and rolled her eyes, and slowly repeated the motion. Qishi shouted, "Ding Kiu!"

He stayed put in the stance and only raised his palms in front of him and facing away from him. The men repeated.

"Wan Kiu!" he screamed. Shuaige folded the fingers on each hand except the index fingers, and the men imitated him.

"Jai Kiu!" he shouted again; he balled his fists while still in front of him. The curled fingers of his fists faced down; the men and Avani did the same.

Returning to Baoshou, some of the recruits chuckled at the amazement because they got the hang of the staff twirl. Even one of them duplicated the freestyle moves performed by Fangzhu. He attempted to spin it over his head, it collided with that of another's, and both of the young men's hands started to throb in pain from the violent vibrations.

"Next time, don't do that in formation; you can do tricks on your own time!" disapproved the First Lieutenant.

Fangzhu promised to the young man, "If you'd like, I can show you after training is over."

The recruit nodded and smiled. The men's leader spoke to them again and the recruits faced in the direction of the First Lieutenant, "We're going to learn some blocks and strikes, men!"

"Right foot forward, both hands wrapped around the staff, make sure those fingers are facing away from you. Position your hands close on the grip but not too close! Quickly swing it to the left at an acute angle. Release your right-hand cock it back, then jab forward!" instructed Baoshou.

The warriors mimicked his movements; most of them simultaneously finished with their jab while some lagged only one or two yi. He commanded them after they safely followed instructions, "Let's do this ten times; I want to see you all doing it naturally!"

The benders were learning a final stance he showed them further, "Lifting a boulder out of the ground is elementary, soldiers! We start off with Ma Kiu, shift into Deing Kiu, lifting the boulders out of the ground, we change to Jik Kiu without losing concentration, then we punch forward!"

"Spread out!" yelled Qishi.

All of the benders spread out, repeating the motions like their superior. As Shuaige repeated the forms, he shouted the stances. When the men started in Ma Kiu, Avani went through it quickly and tore a head-sized rock out of the ground and threw it forward. Shuaige got in Avani's face again and shook his head at her in disapproval, "No! No! No! You are not acting alone here. You're doing it with your brothers-in-arms!"

"What did I say about disorganized armies, men?!" he barked.

"Disorderly armies are defeated armies!" they repeated in unison.

"I'm already better than them. Why can't I sit this one out?" Avani argued with Shuaige.

"You are a private in this company; you will train, eat, sleep, and live like the rest of the men! Is that understood?" he countered.

Avani rolled her eyes at him, "Don't you roll your eyes at me! Are we clear?!" he shouted in her face. 

She conceded to him, although she felt she didn't even mean it, "Yes."

"Now continue Ma Kiu, Deing Kiu, Jik Kiu, punch!" he repeated. The men and Avani resumed their training as told.

Back in Laofung, bodies piled on each other, the armors distinguished which warrior belonged to which army. The invaders' numbers shrunk, as did the natives, although the fight was far from over. In the southern gates, a battering ram finally gave way and broke the second gates down. Ten thousand defenders watched as the doors caved in on each other. The men roared and charged into the fight without giving the front line a much-needed breather. The warriors lunged with their blades forward as the earthbenders tossed boulders, directed tremors, and lines of jagged pillars at the attackers.

The arches on the roofs of estates struck down their enemies with volleys of arrows. Rockets were fired off the walls of the city. A bit of the advancing military was inside the city, with many still outside. A sea of gold and silver glittered in the sunlight that shined down upon them. Rows of flaming projectiles swung in from outside the walls, the trebuchets were rolled farther down onto the battlefield. Boulders drowned in oil and blazing with torchlight went over the barrier, crashing into more structures and destroying the roads. The city guard joined the governor's estate guards and reinforced their protection over the siheyuan.

The northern entrance to the city had enemy soldiers pouring in for the past two hours. Many ran into the residential areas where commoners lived. Often times the denizens were left alone because they'll rule them by force. There were occasional civilians slaughtered when they attempted to rise up and attack the Oma Kingdom soldiers. Many Oma Kingsmen filled the streets as they fought with the city guard and the Provincial Guard. General Shili awaited in the War Center when messenger birds flew in.

After reading some messages, he padded over to the siege commander, "Deploy the siege weapons, our enemies have breached the walls!"

The siege commander released a flare, the engineers and artillerymen teams moved on into the city in their machinations of war. He approached the air officer, "I need one-hundred bombardiers recalled immediately. I want them mounted on the horned condors. They were already readied for this reason."

The junior officer sent messenger birds off in all four directions of the city. Men were recalled out of the South and the West as they handled their struggles far better than the North or East. Half an hour passed when one-hundred bombardiers returned. They were outfitted and equipped with all the necessary tools they needed for air warfare. Their flying beasts were readied with barrels full of oil and crates full of shells. A coordinator was positioned in front of all one-hundred as he signaled them to send off. Twenty-five headed in all four routes, the Oma Kingsmen soldiers spectated in confusion as some of them stopped for a brief pause. They eyed the flock of creatures that flew in from the center of the city. The distracted men were immediately killed, and those who ignored the horned condors didn't know what hit them.

The bombardiers soared through the skies above in five rows of five for each direction, over the invading troops' vastness that assaulted their city. They cut the harnesses of the barrels and allowed them to drop to the ground below. Incendiary devices flashed from above and engulfed all those caught in the oil.

This drastically plunged the numbers by the hundreds; however, it wasn't enough. The advancing north was slowed down by the firebombs. The middle-class district of the commoner's section of Laofung was barricaded with thick walls of earth. It would take several earthbenders to tear the fortifications down.

The South was currently being controlled by the defenders while the east had trouble, although the waves of bombardiers easily kept the armies in check. One of the fliers in the east was shot down by a glaive tosser. The bombardier's mount imploded while he fell to his death; all the bombs that fell with him could now be used by his enemies.

The west kept things under control for some time; they stalled the Oma Kingsmen in the city's farmlands. Some of the fields were destroyed in the carnage, but not enough to affect significantly the farmers who owned them. More men were recalled from the east to deploy more siege weapons.

Guandi, Zhoukou province, Haijun Kingdom

Gan stood near the edge of a cliff that overlooked the valley below a vast city protected by walls was beyond. Passed all that he could view the watery horizon, the capital city of Guandi was built on a beach in southern Zhoukou province. The afternoon rolled in, the searing hot sun of Zhoukou province bore down on his slightly wrinkled skin.

Brigadier-General Yun placed his hand on Gan's shoulder, the quinquagenarian turned his attention to the young general who joined his view. He questioned the barbarian mercenary, "Are you ready?"

"I was born ready; my men are ready. It's time we show Shuicheng the might of the Oma Kingdom," answered Gan.

"I like your style; they won't know what hit them, luckily, I've got eyes in the city," added Gan.

"They're massively outnumbered; we'll take the city in a matter of hours, I hope," grinned Gan. 

Yun wondered, "How many?"

"Less than ten thousand," he responded.

"And of the militias?" Yun asked.

"Are you afraid of untrained farmers?" Gan questioned Yun, but the brigadier-general ignored him.

"I'm taking control of your men. However, I want to request a recon mission for you. Take four of your best with you, assassinate the governor, by the time we take the city, he'll already be dead," mentioned Yun.

Gan nodded to the mission, "Here's a map of the city, and we'll be fitting your chosen with disguises," added Yun.

Meanwhile, Baoshou set up targets for the warriors, "Target practice! Grab yourselves a bow and a quiver with practice arrows; your goal is to strike the targets."

"Bows are self-explanatory weapons; they're easy to use, although you want to be in the ideal effective ranger for the average archer. Which is about ninety to one-hundred-and-eighty chi," added Baoshou.

He grabbed a bow and notched an arrow from his quiver onto the bowstring. Baoshou aimed at his target, once he released the arrow, the men were awestruck when he hit the mark dead-center. Zuqiu, on the one hand, was excited for range training since his father prepared him for it. When he wrapped his hand around a bow, he felt at peace. All forty archers lined up; Zuqiu and Fangzhu were among the forty. They all held a position in front of their targets within a ninety chi range. Pulling the bowstrings, they were commanded to release their arrows.

"Release!" commanded Baoshou.

Forty arrows flew toward their targets; some of the arrows didn't reach their mark as they hit the ground in front of them. Either close to the archer's feet or further away, some hit the target's edge or near the bullseye. Zuqiu's arrow plunged on the bullseye, while Fangzhu's went straight through because he enhanced the speed with airbending.

Baoshou stopped the men so that he could inspect the targets. He shook his head when he saw some never made it near the mark. There was only one impaled right into the center of it; he glanced back to see the young man standing with the bow still in hand was Zuqiu. He approached the teenager, "You, boy, you're a natural. Where did you learn how to shoot?" he questioned Zuqiu.

"I was taught by my father, Sir. Captain Muchang Fen of the Duryajian Provincial Guard, he was originally from Suzhou City. But he retired and move to Yafao to become a farmer," revealed Zuqiu.

"Impressive, your father taught you well. You will do him well as a skilled archer on the battlefield. I'd like to study your archery closely after training today, if you don't mind," nodded Baoshou, then he requested to give a closer look at the boy's skills.

"Maybe I can give you some tips to iron out your skills," he added.

Zuqiu would be delighted, he smiled. Baoshou shouted at the non-benders, "Again! Notch those arrows, aim, and release the bowstring!"

Forty benders stood in rows by Shuaige while he instructed similarly. Ranged earthbending, as he called it, "You've seen your average archer is normally a non-bender correct?"

They all nodded, "But have you ever seen an earthbender snipe a target from a further distance?" he questioned them. They all waited silently then shook their heads.

"This next move was invented over two-hundred years ago by a soldier that was nicknamed Ying Yan. He was born with the eyes of a loris hawk; not only was he a great sniper, being able to eliminate targets from great distances with a rock, but he could also do it at night. Sadly, the man passed away, but his legend lives on," began Shuaige.

"Today we're all going to honor Ying Yan; in those crates, you will find a stone that can fit in your hand. You could toss the rock, or you can hold it correctly in your hand and strike the target dummies that are three-hundred chi away from us," resumed Shuaige.

Shuaige widened his stance with his legs both past the shoulder length, sort of crouched. The hand that held the rock rested inside the other and wrapped around the hand that held the stone. Shuaige lifted his front leg slightly before he stepped down and hurled the rock. While Shuaige's feet were planted to the ground, this allowed his bullet to pierce through the air at an incredible speed and inflict significant damage to the target.

The rock flew through the air and lopped off the head of the dummy clean off. He described the form in detail, "Widen your stances, you will hold your rocks like this, and wrap your free hand around your other hand. Make sure you're feet are planted, you lift your front leg a bit, and if you have balance issues, you keep your arms near your chest. Otherwise, lifting them up and over your head will give you more power. You'll then step forward and hurl the projectile over your head and at your target like so!"

At the same time, a row of defenders in the farmlands of Laofung hurled stones unseen from the barricades at the Oma Kingdom soldiers. The invaders were significantly reduced over the past fourteen hours of combat—many falling to bombardiers, Haijun warriors, archers, and snipers. The western invaders ignited a flare. Many in the farmlands witnessed the outburst and pointed at it. One of the men ducked under a swing of a warhammer, and shield slammed his opponent. He took a gander back when he heard the echo of the explosion. Seeing the green flare, he dug his sword into the neck of the Haijun warrior and then fled the farmlands.

Those who occupied the farmlands realized their numbers had dwindled, so they too fled. Some of the siege weapons were abandoned, while others were recovered by those who fled the city. A watchtower near the center of the noble estates saw this and several of the enemies fled the area. He began to beat the drums in a sequence that alerted all the nearby towers to repeat the sound. General Shili received another message, one coming in from the west, "The invaders have released a green flare; it looks as if they're retreating. I believe we've won the assault!"

He neared the closest tower and relayed the information to them. The message was shared across the city once more, this time differently. Enemies from the east also pulled out, as did the north, until they met the fresh reinforcements coming in from Zhong Tai province. The remaining three thousand men were slaughtered by the twenty-five thousand who came to aid Laofung. The reinforcements, only losing four-hundred soldiers, eliminated the intruders. Most of the retreaters didn't fight back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * "Gun Kai" means "fuck off" in Chinese.  
> * The hand signal that Airen used and shared with Fangzhu and Zuqiu, is Chinese Sign Language for "crazy".
> 
> * "Li" means "yard" in Chinese.
> 
> * "Ma" is also a Chinese word of measurement.
> 
> * The Oma Kingdom has slaves often in their forms of punishment their slaves were criminals serving time. In this case, the slave soldiers were actually Haijunese prisoners of war.
> 
> * General Bu Lu is part of the Triumvirate of War; first introduced in chapter 2.
> 
> * The "Provincial Guard" is a military branch that defends the capital cities and settlements of each province within the Haijun and Oma Kingdoms. They were inspired from the National Guard of the United States. The PG were first introduced in Book Three-Chapter 3 of Avatar: The Legacy of Rong Yan. 
> 
> * The War Center is a district in the center of the city of Laofung. Maps were created for each capital city in the story.
> 
> * Cannons exist because the story is using Song Dynasty as inspiration, specifically, mid-Song. The invention of gunpowder had already existed by then, in-universe however, it's called "blasting jelly".
> 
> * "Miao" means "second" in Chinese.
> 
> * The staves that the men train with are bo staves.
> 
> * The stances that are called out by Shuaige, are taken from the martial art of Hung Kuen. AKA Hung Gar, which is also earthbending.
> 
> * Horned condors, are commonly used flying mounts for the Tsinghua Provincial Guard.
> 
> * Horned condors, are just huge condors with gnu horns on the sides of their head.
> 
> * Originally, only the Water Tribesmen in Avatar Rong Yan's era had an air force. But I decided to retcon the idea and give every nation one because it makes things more interesting. The unique difference between the Haijun Kingdom and the Oma Kingdom, is the Haijunese have a permanent air force.
> 
> * Yun was introduced in chapter 2, he also holds a seat in the Triumvirate of War.
> 
> * "Chi" means "feet" in Chinese.
> 
> * The effective range idea was taken from real-life archery.
> 
> * Suzhou City is the capital of the province of Duryaja.
> 
> * Fen, Zuqiu's father was injured in a battle which led to his retirement. He bought land in Yafao and raised his son on a farm.
> 
> * Snipers were inspired from Rise of Kyoshi's own "Bullet" Lek, the idea that an earthbender can be a sniper is terrifying.
> 
> * Ying Yan means "hawk eye" in Chinese.
> 
> * Shuaige says, "He was born with the eyes of a loris hawk." A "loris-hawk" is a hybridized animal cross between a loris and a hawk. The loris is a small, slow-moving nocturnal primate with a short or absent tail, living in dense vegetation in southern Asia. Loris-hawks weren't slow, they were just able to see at night, and they have the tail and giant eyes of the primate while retaining the shape and features of a hawk.
> 
> * Sniping distance was taken from the real world shooting of a gun.
> 
> * The stance that Shuaige is demonstrating is a baseball pitcher's stance.
> 
> * Zhong Tai is the province north of Tsinghua province; those men have been marching for fourteen hours.


	6. Of Conquerors and Guardians Part 2: The Fall of Guandi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: One of the characters in the story is mentioned to have raped a minor in a brothel. There is no scene inside this chapter where said character rapes the minor, only vague descriptions from what the character who encounters the old dude discovers. The main character is forced to disrobe but it has nothing to do with rape, it's part of the Ancient Chinese Five Punishments and without ruining the story I'm being vague here. The punishment isn't public nude humiliation either. Nu Xing another character also disrobes requested by a procurer of a business for purposes of employment.
> 
> TW: Vague gore.
> 
> Gan and his team head into the city of Guandi with one goal in mind assassinate the Governor of Guandi before Brigadier-General Yun assaults the city. Yun gives Gan four hours to complete his mission, will he do it in time? Or will the chain of command inside the city discover the plot of assassination? Avani and the others are still enduring the second day of training, Shuaige partners her with a challenging opponent for close-quarters combat. Will she defeat her opponent without bending? Or will Hansuke finally crown her the worst Avatar ever?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Fen Mo Fu (粉末 伕) means "powder man" in Cantonese; he's an explosive and trap expert. He also has auburn hair a rarity in-universe within his time period, the hair color was native to the Garsai region of the Earth Kingdom.
> 
> * Pi Dao Suo (辟 倒鎖) means "open, locked door" in Cantonese; he's a thief that uses earthbending as his skeleton key into anything. 
> 
> * Bian Nu Xing (変 女性) means "to become different, (of gender) woman" in Cantonese; she's an assassin and alchemical expert. Nu Xing is the first trans character in my AU, she completed her transition when she journeyed to the Fire Nation to seek the Mother of Faces and request a face of the opposite sex.
> 
> * Lin Xi Chao (林夕 炒) His surname 'Chao' means "fight" in Cantonese, while Lin Xi is inspired from Albert Leung, a lyricist from Hong Kong; he's a weapon master which is why 'Chao' was chosen.
> 
> * Taobing means "deserter" in Chinese, he mentions that he previously deserted the Haijunese Army. When describing him I was thinking of long-haired Zaheer for some reason.
> 
> * Fan Jiandie (反间谍) means "counterintelligence" in Chinese, indicating he's a double agent. Jian is a former Yanzhao, they tend to kill their former agents who don't retire for reasons. Which is why they don't have whistleblowers.
> 
> * Edzen (Эзэн) means "lord" in Mongolian and is pronounced "Eh-Zen".
> 
> * Laopiao (老嫖) means "old frequenter of prostitutes" in Chinese.
> 
> * Jingli means "inventory manager" in Chinese.
> 
> * Si Ling (死灵) means "dead agent" in Chinese; he was the agent that Gan killed to take his identity.
> 
> * Yue Lao is a the Haijunese God of Love, in Avatar: The Legacy of Rong Yan he was replaced in the new Kingsmen pantheon into the Kingsmen Immortals. He mentions that he was replaced by Shanshen the Oma God of the Earth who is worshipped by the Oma Kingdom. Both Kingdoms in this time have their own pantheons.
> 
> * Caigou Zhe (采购者) means "procurer" in Chinese; she's the Madam and operator of the brothel.
> 
> * Bei Luyou (贝旅游) means "shell, tourism" in Chinese; his name is based on what the capital is known for.
> 
> * The Governor's wife and twin daughters names Caihou (彩虹), Chan-juan (产-卷), and Chao-xing (超-行) mean "rainbow", "moon", and "morning star" in Chinese.
> 
> * Nao Yanxian (腦 眼線) means "mind's eye" in Chinese; The spymaster's name of the Yanzhao.
> 
> * Zhoukou province (周口) is in the northwestern region of the Earth Kingdom continent near Ba Sing Se, on the southern half of that region. They have a small permanent navy, but their strength mainly comes from their Provincial Guard. They're mainly known for their shellfish exports and big in tourism. Zhoukou's capital is Guandi (官邸).
> 
> * "Arrowhead" is an in-universe racial slur for Air Nomads, the other being "Windbag" which wasn't invented until centuries later during Earth King Yao's reign during Avatar Kwan Chun's life.
> 
> * Fengtai (丰台) is another city in the northern half of Zhoukou province.
> 
> * The House of Ravishing Flowers (花的房子) is a reference to the Wanhua Pavilion from Netflix's Handsome Siblings.
> 
> * “变态” means ‘pervert’ in Chinese, this is what Nu Xing brands Laopiao with on his forehead.
> 
> * Da Mo Tou (大魔头) means "a very wicked and powerful man" in Chinese.
> 
> * A feifei (腓腓) is a fox-like white supernatural creature recorded in Shan Hai Jing. Rearing one has the lovely benefit of dispelling depression. It's described as a white nine-tailed fox.
> 
> * Tuyu (土语) and Houxi (后溪) are states next to each other. Xiawu (下午) is the capital of Tuyu.

The men trained all day, or it would seem so in reality, they were exhausted from the day before. Only four hours have passed since day two of training began. Today they were going to learn something new. Baoshou and Shuaige stood side-by-side across from the soldiers, the First Lieutenant started to, “We’ve arrived in my favorite part of the training, hand-to-hand combat something that our earthbender friends seem to have trouble with; while we non-benders excel at it, partner together with your bender and non-bender friends in pairs of two.”

“We’re going to teach you the Killing Fist style; the Wang Mu warrior cult is native to the Wang-Mu Summit in Kunlun province. They’re a pious cult of non-benders who study martial arts on their mountain top cathedral. Their style has proven to aid us in close-quarters combat with barbarians,” explained Baohsou.

“We will demonstrate as we instruct you on stances and strikes. Pay close attention!” Shuaige added, Avani pointed at Zuqiu to partner up with him. Shuaige shook his head and intervened, “No, Zuqiu, you’re going to partner up with Wei. I’m leaving Avani to Taobing.”

Captain Qishi pointed behind him with his thumb to a terrifying look of a man. He was muscular and adorned with several scars. His skin was tanned, his eyes were light brown, his hair was black with strands of gray here and there. His face invaded by very few wrinkles; his hair was long and grew past his shoulders. His hands were wrapped in hand wraps; he carried a nefarious look in his eyes. Avani slouched and clopped over to the man sighing. She wanted a more comfortable partner, but Avani felt that Captain Qishi wanted to make things more difficult simply because she was the Avatar.

The brutish man gawked at the young woman for a brief moment as she neared him. He extended his hand to shake hers, but she ignored him. She murmured to him in a dull tone, “Hey.”

They stood across from each other when training began; he removed his tunic, which revealed a chest tattoo. On his left pectoral, Avani read “亡命,” and on his right pectoral it read “之徒,” this was his punishment by the Haijun Kingdom. Besides the lashing scars that marked his back, the tattoo read “runaway.” Avani took a step back, shocked when she recognized the tattoo on his chest. She brought it up, “You... you’re a deserter...”

“That was the old me...when I was a boy. Now I want to fight for my kingdom,” he grinned, although even he knew the man didn’t mean what he said. She said nothing in return but thought to herself, “You’re lying through your teeth!” she did squint at him with hostility.

“When your opponent strikes with either their right or left, use your blocking arm to push their strike away. Then use your free hand to poke them in the eyes. Once they’re blind, you clench their throat and use your entire weight to knock them down and strangle them. However, with your partner, you’ll be practicing the moves slowly, so we don’t accidentally kill our friends,” described Baoshou.

“Like so,” he said, Captain Qishi threw a right strike, but Baoshou used his left to push the Captain’s right fist away. He pretended to strike Qishi in the eyes with his left, Shuaige covered his eyes, pretending to be blinded. Baoshou used his right and lightly squeezed his superior’s throat and forced him to the ground.

“Once you’re down here, you’re open to strangle them with both hands. They call this move the ‘Side Grab Claw,’ it is used for hand pushing and breaking, incapacitating your attacker, then crushing their throat and sealing the breath,” explained the First Lieutenant.

All the trainees slowly repeated the demonstration they spectated some failed to remember the next step while others resumed and successfully forced their partners to the ground. After several minutes of practice, Baoushou moved on, “This next move is known as, ‘Double Backfist,’ it’s used to incapacitate the attacker by punching them in the diaphragm, and then once they’re on the ground gasping for breath mounting onto them, and striking them in the face until they’re unconscious or dead.”

Baoshou lightly uppercut Captain Qishi right in the center of his torso. When Shuaige fell to his knees, Baohsou mounted him and used both hands to gently smack him across his face. He glanced back and added, “You won’t be slapping your enemies; aim straight for the center of the face. The stronger the hit, the more likely you are to kill your target.”

Meanwhile, Gan’s team assembled and mounted their ostrich horses; all of them wore disguises. Gan was dressed as a Yanzhao agent; this was needed to get closer to the Governor. The agent they kidnapped and killed had a meeting scheduled with the Governor of Zhoukou province on behalf of the Earth King and the Spymaster of the Yanzhao.

Gan’s team consisted of three men and one woman. All five of them traveled down the mountain pass to the valley below. As they reached the city’s northern entrance walls, they saw a military checkpoint in the distance. An added addition of security ordered by the Earth King himself, just beyond it, was the capital city’s bazaar section. All five entered at different times to not raise suspicion, but they’ve been the only five travelers in days coming through the north.

The first two to enter were Gan and Fen Mo Fu, their leader was dressed in the traditional black garb worn by the Yanzhao agents. His conical hat was dyed black and strapped to his head, a jian held on his waist’s left side. The gentleman to his right was disguised as a Haijunese soldier. The golden lamellar armor glistened in the sunlight and bounced off, reflecting on the far wall. He was pale-skinned, with dark brown eyes and the rarely seen dark auburn-colored hair. It was wrapped in a topknot; he wore a sort of heavy facial hair, a thick mustache, bushy sideburns, and a tuft of chin hairs.

Gan chose this man for his creative mind that permitted him to create things out of everyday objects. Like his leader, he could adapt to any situation; the bonus was that Mo Fu was also an explosives and traps expert. One of the men at the checkpoint called out to them, “Papers!”

Another soldier one believed to be of higher rank studied both men from his post and shouted to private, “Let them through, don’t you see it’s a Yanzhao agent and his lowly serviceman?”

The disguised Oma Kingsmen soldier remained silent but nodded; ten minutes passed, and another rode in. He, too, was halted with a hand signal. This man was tall, wiry, with sun-kissed skin, brown eyes, he shaved his head, and eyebrows save for the clump of hair that rested where his hairline would’ve been. A scar ran from the back of his head and ended on his right temple. He wore sandy-colored robes and sandals woven from straw. His mount was fitted with sacks and chests that hid his tools in secret compartments. The pack was filled with parchment rolled up, but that contained no writing. The soldier approached him and inquired, “What brings you to Guandi?”

“I’ve come from Kunlun province, Sir. I came to share my teachings to those eager to learn the Way of the Killing Fist,” he responded.

“Way of the Killing Fist, huh?” wondered the serviceman.

“You’ve heard of the Wang-Mu Warriors, yes?” he asked the trooper.

“Eh...no,” the man declined.

“The Wang-Mu warriors of Kunlun’s Wang-Mu Summit? My organization has been around for thousands of years. How could you not know?!” hissed the monk. He pretended to be offended with the idiotic lackey that was stationed at the checkpoint.

“Wang-Mu Warriors? I thought you were an airbender,” assumed the soldier; he was confused because he’s indeed never heard of the warrior cult. 

He angrily handed the man his papers, “How dare you compare me to one of those arrowheads!”

After he received his identification papers, he raised his chin and turned to face the entrance, “Hmph!”

He was disguised as a monk from the pious cult from Kunlun province; he wasn’t a soldier. He was a thief picked up from another province by Gan. His skillset was something that benefitted the champion of the Meng clan. Thievery, stealth, forgery, lockpicking, and pickpocketing. To top it off, he also had a silver tongue.

Through the inspection post came another noblewoman she had flawless pale skin, dark brown hair styled in a tossed-up bun. Her eyes were golden-colored like the coins that nobles carried in their coin purses. She wore a loose-sleeved teal green dress, while her blouse and over-dress were green with floral designs. Her vest, short-sleeved jacket, and coat were different shades of green. Her lower skirt was light green with lotus designs that encircled the dress in a spiral.

She wore a silver hairpin that held her bun in place, a small pink-petaled lotus flower decorated on one end of the pin. Her skirt was so low that it hid her unbound feet, a feature that would’ve thrown off her disguise if the soldier checked her feet. In the Haijun Kingdom, it was common for noblewomen to have bound feet.

She handed her papers to the serviceman, who paced toward the beautiful woman. He stared at her identification, and then every blink of an eye, he gazed upon her sharp face. He scratched his head and commented, “It says here your name is Bian Nu Xing, that’s commonly a man’s name.”

She bore her eyes into him with displeasure and questioned the soldier’s rude behavior, “Are my parents not allowed to name as they please?!”

“Apologies, go on ahead,” he apologized when he noticed he crossed a line; when the woman entered the city, the man in the post called out to him, “Hey Shu.”

The soldier turned around to face the other, “Not cool.”

Gan chose her because she was alluring and charming; she had her own way of extracting information. Often, she drugged her victims because she concocted her own poisons, she was an alchemical expert he met back in Mao Shu Hu province. The woman was smooth-spoken and eloquent; she once worked with a triad in her home province's capital.

Lastly, a chubby, tan-skinned individual with light green eyes, dashing black hair that rested on his shoulders, and his face had a patchy beard accompanied by whiskers at the ends above his upper lip. He wore a flamboyant robe with pretty colors, a combination of orange, pink, and purple. A pipa was strapped to his back, a haladie hidden in the pendant around his neck. Gan made sure this man was in his team, a skilled weapon master. He could grab anything in sight and use it proficiently as a fighting tool. He carried a water gourd fastened to his waist crafted in the Fire Nation, inside it contained alcohol. For the purposes of merriment and debauchery, although outside alcohol was illegal in Guandi.

He pulled the reigns on his ostrich horse, halting in front of the military inspection point. The bard handed the inspection guard his identification papers, the soldier pointed at the pipa on his back, “May I?”

The bard removed the instrument from his back and handed it to the serviceman, who then proceeded to shake it, thinking something would fall out. He inspected the sack of food brought by the bard and then was about to uncork his water gourd when the minstrel made a snarky comment, “It’s water; I’m not hiding a dragon in there.”

“Don’t get snarky with me, ren zha. I’m just doing my job,” disapproved the soldier, bothered he gestured the traveling musician to go on through. He joined his team inside the bazaar once he was out of sight of the man at the military roadblock.

The attractive tricenarian woman carried a deep secret within her. She was elegant and mysterious. She’d walk in a room to find eyes that’d never look at another woman staring straight at her. Eyes followed where she walked.

She casually sat on her mount and complained, “I didn’t come all this way to have an ignorant man tell me that my name isn’t feminine. The tedious process of changing one’s name is far worse than getting a new identity from the Mother of Faces.”

Gan studied the map further attempting to memorize the entire city’s districts, “The noble estate is southwest of us, the governor’s siheyuan is far to the west near the wall,” said Gan.

He faced the bard, “Lin Xi, you’ve been here, correct?” he wondered.

“Er...well no, I’ve only been to Fengtai, the city we’ve conquered in the north before coming here,” answered the bard.

“This might be slightly more difficult than I thought,” noted Gan.

“Luckily, I have a connection here; his name is Fan Jiandie, he goes by ‘Jian’ for short. He hangs out in the University District. Apparently, the triad he’s in now has a compound there. Nu Xing, this is your specialty. Jian is a former Yanzhao agent; I had him keep tabs on the Governor’s steward. He’s agreed to meet a fountain in front of a printing business. Jian should know about the whereabouts of our first target,” explained Gan.

“Once you find the steward, extract the necessary information off of him, find out the Governor’s family’s names, where his bunker is, and the Governor’s schedule. I’m hoping by pure chance that Lin Xin and I catch the Governor at home,” finished Gan.

She bowed to the champion of the Meng, “I will not fail you, edzen.”

She spanked the hind of her ostrich horse, and they galloped off toward the southeast, she didn’t need a map as resourceful as she was. She was intelligent to follow directions and read signs that led directly to where she needed to be.

Gan faced the explosives expert Mo Fu,” Take Pi Dao Suo with you; He can unlock any door, safe, or gate. Here’s the map. I’ve marked the area that you can hit for explosives. 

After you’ve gathered the materials, meet here this is the Governor’s estate's service entrance. I’ll make sure to let you in that way; we can go on from there.”

“And if unnecessary eyes bear down on a soldier and a monk carrying a cart of explosives?” worried Mo Fu.

“Those fake papers you’re carrying also provide the seal of approval of a Yanzhao officer. State your orders and present a guard, soldier, or an agent with that seal and they’ll leave you alone,” explained Gan.

“What of the thief? A monk seems unlikely to associate themselves with a soldier,” asked Mo Fu.

“He can hide within the carriage, if you’re worried about it, fabricate a story if you need to; perhaps he’s your assistant,” suggested Gan.

They both saluted him, “We’ll meet you soon, best of luck to you and Lin Xi, Edzen,” said Pi Dao Suo as he excused himself.

“I suppose that leaves us two; what will you have me do?” blurted out the weapon master.

“You’ll be an entertainer I hired to play for the Governor. I have a meeting with him for an assignment straight from the Earth King himself,” divulged Gan.

“He’s invited me for tea at his estate,” added Gan.

“Hmm, my job seems more laid back than I thought,” commented Lin Xi.

The elusive assassin finally reached the printing business after about an hour of riding through the city. In front of the establishment was a water fountain where Gan believed the former agent agreed to meet. She waited for someone, although she had no idea of their appearance. Out of the shadows appeared a man, his skin was pale, his stature short, dark green eyes and light brown hair. He was wiry and wore a lovely black tunic with black pantaloons with an embroidery of a spider snake around the waist. A scar marked his left cheek, a tuft of facial hair under his lower lip while a stubble filled the bottom half of his face.’

“You must be Jian,” she guessed.

“Who’s asking?” he questioned the stranger.

“Edzen Gan, he told me you have information on the target’s steward,” she answered. 

The former agent stared at her for a moment, “Your accent tells me you’re not from here. Oma Kingsmen just like him, I reckon?”

“Fire Nationalist, actually,” she corrected him.

Jian smiled, “Ahh, I never would’ve guessed. Your target is Lao Piao; he frequents a spot in the Noble District known as the House of Ravishing Flowers. It's a brothel that only the rich and powerful go-to for services.”

Jian walked back into the shadows; as spies and assassins, Nu Xing knew well that saying less when giving information was better than asking questions. She snapped the reigns on her beast and headed east.

Two Hours Later; Somewhere in the War District, Guandi City

Mo Fu and Pi Dao found themselves at a warehouse; two men guarded the entrance. The warehouse was surrounded by a wall and guards near its gates. Both men walked up to them, and one of the guardsmen barked, “Halt! Who goes there?”

Mo Fu handed the man his papers, the guard saw the seal of a Yanzhao officer, then he peeped up to eye the monk alongside the soldier. He questioned the thief, “You, who are you?”

“Yanzhao officers always assign scribes to their servicemen; the scribes keep a record of what we do daily,” lied Mo Fu.

“I didn’t ask you, I asked him,” said the guardsman.

“He’s deaf; he can’t hear you,” added Mo Fu.

“Ahh, he’s one of those, very well then. You may proceed,” nodded the guardsman. They both pulled onto the reigns of their ostrich horses and led them into the storage house. The guardsmen shoved the gates open and permitted the men inside. Once inside, Mo Fu secured a carriage, “By order of the Yanzhao, I need you to prepare this carriage for my assistant and me,” he commanded to one of the workers.

“Yes, milord,” bowed the worker.

“I’d like it near the entrance of the warehouse. It’d make it easier to carry things from the building and into the cart,” Mo Fu requested.

Pi Dao Suo treaded behind the heels of Mo Fu, both of them hurried into the warehouse. A worker that exited the warehouse kept the door open for them. Inside was more extensive than they expected; an inventory clerk worked behind a desk. His job was to markdown and write off everything that entered or left the warehouse.

“That guy is going to be a thorn on our sides,” muttered Pi Dao.

“We’re here to collect the baopo xiang, upon orders from Agent Si Ling,” said Mo Fu.

“You’ll have to wait until our inventory manager, Jingli, returns,” responded the inventory associate.

“This cannot wait; we’re on strict orders from the Yanzhao,” pressed the soldier.

The associate gasped and trembled in fear, “The Yanzhao?! Why didn’t you say so?” he was frightened at the mere mention of the Eyes of the King. Perhaps he’s had a history with them before.

“Right this way,” he whispered; he got off his chair and led them toward the chamber that stored the blasting crates. They padded through halls and passed an endless amount of rooms to reach a walled iron chamber. A padlock kept it locked up tight; the thief and the mercenary exchanged looks, and then their eyes stared over at the associate whose back was turned to them. The mercenary slightly nodded, and the thief grabbed his blackjack and slammed it on the worker's nape.

The hit knocked the man unconscious; Mo Fu tore a strap from the man’s uniform to tie his hands together. Then another to gag their victim while Pi Dao inspected the lock, he reached into his pocket and grabbed two rocks that he loosened into sand. Pi Dao used them to feel the pin tumblers inside to understand the way they are. He removed the sand and formed it into a unique solid key that could open the lock. The padlock clicked and hit the ground with a thud; he used earthbending to unlock it. 

The mercenary commented, “Wow, Gan was right. You do carry a master key.”

Mo Fu was impressed with the skills of the thief; he believed there was no other. They pushed the iron door open together, inside sat containers of blasting crates. Mo Fu carried two containers while the thief took one. Each box held a total of three blasting crates inside. When they jogged by the desk, the inventory manager was still nowhere to be found. The thief, quicker than his partner, returned faster to grab another before he used earthbending to force the door shut. Placing the lock back onto it as if nothing happened.

He dashed to the exit once more with the fourth crate in hand, they stuffed them inside. Pi Dao called out the mercenary, “Wait.”

“I want their list; they’ll never know who was here,” he said as he entered the building for the last time. 

He snatched the list off of the desk and darted back out, and then boarded the carriage. Mo Fu grasped the reins and snapped the hind of the ostrich horses they used to arrive at the storehouse. The gates opened again, allowing them to exit. With the map in Mo Fu’s pocket, they now headed for the Governor’s estate.

Two Hours Later; Northern Noble Estates, Guandi, City

Nu Xing pulled on the reins of her mount she believed to have found the location Jian told her about. It wasn’t a prominent structure, but it was two stories tall. On the front-side of the building, a black sign with the characters carved into the wood and painted in gold read, “花的房子” or “House of Ravishing Flowers.” 

She entered the cathouse; the front had a counter made of birch wood with an older woman behind it. A quill and inkpot were placed to her left, parchment, a pair of wooden dividers to flatten the parchment to her right. Her robes were a light pink color with floral embroideries, the material of her robes was nylon silk. She wore another set of clothing underneath her see-through over robes. Her hair was woven into a bumble fly hive, a hairstyle commonly worn by older noblewomen; she looked to be in her sixties.

She was surprised that a woman entered the establishment most often. Their customers were men. They didn’t have male workers for the women who came in. Perhaps she sought this as an opportunity to call forth the Yanzhao. She greeted the curious woman that entered, but in her mind, she thought, “I should call the Yanzhao to rid of this daozhi filth from my presence.”

“It is not often we get a female customer; what can I assist you with, Qinai de?” the older woman asked her customer. She squinted her eyes and gave a slight warm smile; the woman’s makeup didn’t break when her face wrinkled as she smiled.

“I’d like to seek employment here,” the young woman answered.

“Oh...well, let me check you out in the room behind me, and we’ll see if you’re xiaojie material, Qinai de,” said the old woman.

Nu Xing nodded and followed the older woman into the room that she pointed behind her. The tricenarian woman removed her robes; once they dropped to her ankles, the older woman was captivated by her beauty. She grabbed her spectacles because she thought she wasn’t seeing correctly and thought her eyesight was tricking her. The old woman complimented her, “By Yue Lao’s beard! Your body was crafted to perfection by Yun herself! A body like this isn’t usually carried by a woman of your age. The younger ones tend to have bodies sculpted this well. We usually obtain them the year they become of age.”

“Does this mean I pass?” she questioned the old lady.

“That means you can begin today,” she laughed.

A bell rang in the background as the door creaked open, as Nu Xing dressed. The procurer leaned out of the room to see who walked in. A short older gentleman with tan skin, a bald crown, and long white hair that grew past his shoulders stood by the counter. His beard was short and groomed. It didn’t extend past half an inch at best. His green eyes reflected in the candlelight; although he was clean, he was quite hideous and fat. But of course, the belly was hard to avoid at such an old age; his robes were of a seafoam green color. It had embroideries of sea kelp that ran from the coat down to the lower half of it, ending near his knees. The embroideries were dyed a sage green color, the sash wrapped around his waist was dark green. 

“Good afternoon, Zhe Caigou; it is always a pleasure to see you!” smiled the sexagenarian gentleman.

The old man was also in his sixties; most of the riches he obtained were because he was Governor Luyou Bei's steward. The procurer chuckled, “Lao Piao, you are too good to me; you are our valued customer after all!” She gave the man a toothy smile.

“I’d like to buy an hour with my beloved Nu Ying as always,” grinned the perverted old man.

“I apologize for the issue, but Nu Ying is very ill today. However, we have a new worker. This is...” she apologized to the old man, then she introduced him to the newest prostitute. She paused because she never learned the woman’s name.

The Madam elbowed Nu Xing, “Oh, I’m Nu Xing, milord.”

He creepily gazed at her and then rubbed her soft hand in between his bony, wrinkly, and liver-spotted hands. He slid his left hand into her robe sleeve while he seemed entranced with the newest worker. His invasive cold hand brought chills to Nu Xing’s skin; she felt a sense of unease when the nobleman invaded her personal space. 

Caigou interrupted him, “Lao drop the coin purse on the counter and take the girl for a spin!”

He snapped out of whatever state he was in and felt embarrassed, “Right, yes...of course!”

He unlatched a coin purse from his sash and dropped it on the counter. Coins spilled out, and onto the counter, the sack was filled to the brim with a silver coin. He led the new girl to a room on the second floor, which was his favorite. The room was more significant than others; he personally called it ‘his dungeon,’ there were all sorts of tools for the workers. 

However, Lao Piao received special treatment here, giving him the authority to use those tools on the workers. He enjoyed beating the poor girl he paid for daily for his sick sense of pleasure. She was worn out by the elderly bastard that sometimes she got ill after an intense session with him. The elderly steward chortled as he locked the door behind them. 

Lao Piao praised himself and introduced the woman to the dungeon, “This is where I bring Nu Ying to; she’s half your age. When you have money and power, they let you do anything in this place!”

Bian Nu Xing stood in the center of the room and stayed quiet. She felt disgusted and screamed inside herself, “By the gods, what does this disgusting monster do to that poor girl? Let alone in here unsupervised?”

The steward crept up behind Nu Xing and wrapped his arms around her; he caressed her and then removed the sash of her robes. She gasped and turned to face the vile old man.

“It’s okay, baobao, I know you’re new. I’ll be gentle,” promised Lao Piao.

He approached a small crate with tools inside; there was a crusty and old jiba ring, made of elastic goat dog eyelid, an iron yinjing cast for some play, and some other unknown things Nu Xing saw but had no idea what their uses were. He grabbed a tool made of jade, when he turned around, Nu Xing clenched at the old pervert’s throat and thrust him against the wall.

“Ahh, a rough...woman...I like you...already!” breathed the old man, with what short bursts of air he was able to muster while she held his throat.

“I am your work...of erotic art, do...as you please,” he panted.

“Tell me what I need to know about Governor Luyou,” she pressed.

“What...would you like...t-to know?” he gasped for air; Nu Xing loosened her grip on his throat so that he may speak.

“Where he sleeps, who his family is, the presence of the guard in and around the siheyuan, where is his bunker?” she interrogated him. A series of questions escaped her mouth.

“He sleeps in the west wing of the estate; the guard presence around the exterior of the estate and interior are heavy. You won’t stand a chance,” he grinned wickedly.

While he spoke to her and gazed into her eyes, he reached for the iron cast of the yinjing. He struck the unsuspecting woman upside the head with it. But unsuccessfully, he failed to knock her out; he definitely surprised her. She dropped him, the steward scurried for the door and shouted for help but then quieted down when he remembered that the walls were soundproof.

This was the room where he viciously molested a barely legal harlot. He scrambled to open the lock, his head slammed against the door. One of the other call girls escorted another customer down that hall. The middle-aged man saw the door tremble, his smile curled from ear-to-ear. He beamed, “I want to have whatever he’s having!”

Unaware of what happened inside, she pivoted the old man around and punched him in the face. Lao Piao spat out a loose tooth, the woman repeated, “Who are his family members?!”

She kicked the old pervert in the face, he collapsed to the ground blacked out. She dragged his body to a table in the darkest corner of the dungeon. Strapping him to the table, when she joined her in consciousness, he felt the temperature in the room changed. It felt a bit warmer than before; he also felt a tightness around his wrists and ankles. His head moved to see that he had been strapped to the table. She hid a brand from him while she worked on heating it with two fingers.

The brand was secured to a probe, and it read “变态” or which meant ‘pervert.’ The stamp glowed red; she extinguished the flame at the end of her fingertips.

“Who are his family members?! I’m not going to ask three times!” she shouted.

She presented the brand to the old man, “You’re a firebender?! What are...you going to do with th-that?!” he implored.

“Wrong answer, Da Mo Tou!” she yelled; she compressed the hot brand onto the flesh of the client. His screams of agony echoed inside the room but went unheard from the outside. She screamed in his face, “Who are they?!”

“Their...their names... there’s three...his wife, and his...fraternal twin daughters! Luyou Caihong, Luyou Chan-juan, and Luyou Chao-xing!” he cried out. 

Tears welled in the elder’s eyes, “Where are they?” she inquired further as she slowly pulled the brand off his forehead. 

The hanzi characters were left imprinted on his forehead forever, scarring and marking him as a predator for however long he lived. People needed to know who he was, and the warning on his forehead would allow others to know this. 

“Luyou Caihong is always at home, while the girls right now are in the academy where they go daily. They’ll be there all day until late afternoon!” he responded.

“Where is the bunker?” she bugged him.

“I-I don’t know!” he denied.

She knew the old pervert had lied to her; he was the damn steward of the Governor. She barked in his face, “What do you mean you don’t know? You’re part of the chain of command for the Governor, for crying out loud!”

“No, really! I don’t know! Only the Governor, the Captain of the estate guard, and his family members know!” he added. He reckoned this would save his hide.

“Mr. Piao, I know you’re lying!” she roared; she punched him in the nose. 

He felt the sensation of a running nose, but there was no sign of blood. He coughed out the information, “When the city’s under assault, the Luyou family are rushed to the park. There’s a special bunker hidden under the pond only accessed with earthbending!”

“Thank you, Mr. Piao!” exclaimed Nu Xing; she turned to leave but reminded herself of something, “Hey! Aren’t you going to unstrap me?” he called out to her.

She grinned wickedly at him, his body filled with a sense of dread, “I almost forgot to thank you for reminding me! This is Nu Ying’s revenge!” she cackled. 

She minced over to the table a dagger gripped in her hand; she tore off the trousers that were underneath the dress of his robes. Revealing that he didn’t wear any underwear, and his nether regions were exposed. She cackled, “You don’t get the choice of having to be loaded with medicine for this. As you said, when you have money and power, they let you do anything here!”

She severed his family jewels from his body, he urinated a mix of blood and urine on himself and all over his clothing. He fell into deep shock; she cut the binds off and left the door open as she headed out. The procurer was still at the front counter when Nu Xing reached the bottom floor. The old woman looked up from the list and said nothing when Nu Xing passed by and mentioned, “I’m going out for lunch, exciting our valued customer has exhausted me. I’ll return in an hour.”

She mounted her ostrich horse after leaving the business and headed to the west to meet with Gan and the others. Meanwhile, Lin Xi and Gan waited for Mo Fu and Pi Dao to arrive. The carriage eventually came by, Lin Xi assisted Mo Fu and Pi Dao with all the explosives, the minstrel handed the bomb expert a map of the estate. He said, “Here, I took this from a guard when he wasn’t paying attention. You should examine this and identify the weak points within the main home.”

Gan mentioned to them, “We’ll be meeting the steward and the Governor in about half an hour. We will be exiting through here. Lin Xi will personally come for you. That’ll be our signal to leave after you ignite the explosives.”

Gan and Lin Xi entered the main home and was discovered by a guard, “Milord, the governor, is waiting for you; we were ordered to escort you to his living room,” briefed the guard.

“Thank you,” thanked Gan, while the bard bowed before the guardsman.

Gan and Lin Xi entered the room where a short, plump quinquagenarian sat in lotus form on his ta. His robes were white-dyed spider snake silk, the lining was golden with gold embroideries shaped like a feifei or a white fox hare. An elusive and quick creature native to the mountainous forests of northern Zhoukou. The significance of the beast is of good omen; they’re popularly known to bring bad omen. The other meaning of the animal was a rebirth, whatever that meant to his family.

He saw the men that entered and rose his arms in the air with joy, “You’re here, Agent Si Ling!” cheered the Governor.

“Who’s your friend?” he questioned the agent.

“This is a hireling that was hired for our entertainment. A bard, I figured he could play music while we enjoyed our tea and discussed important matters,” responded Gan.

“Certainly, do you know the song called, ‘The Feifei of Guandi’? It’s a favorite of mine,” the Governor asked the bard. 

Luckily, like a traveling minstrel between both kingdoms he did, he bowed to the Governor and tuned his pipa before he began to play. Gan started to, “I’m here on behalf of Earth King Shuicheng and Minister Nao Yanxian.”

“Ahh yes, I believe the meeting was going to be about the discussion of an operation that will be going on here?” guessed Governor Bei.

“Aye, we are planning an operation on a veneration of daozhi here rumored to be hidden somewhere in the Guandi mountains,” summarized Gan. 

Lin Xi began to strum the first few strings of his pipa and released the song's intro sequence. This placed a smile on the Governor’s face; simultaneously, Mo Fu and Pi Dao reached the marked areas chosen by the explosives expert. Mo Fu inquired, “How many crates do we have again?”

“We have sixteen crates,” noted the thief. 

He pointed and said, “Here’s the first imperfection.”

The explosives expert got to work using his earthbending to hide the explosives' thread in a small tunnel. Only a line could fit freely without issue. The thief returned a compliment, “That’s impressive.”

“Thank you, I use this method to hide the cord of the incendiary devices,” revealed Mo Fu.

“Anyway, where’s the next one?” requested the mercenary.

“Not far,” answered the thief.

Meanwhile, Avani panted, her brown locks of hair stuck to the sides of her sweaty temples as she maintained herself during a sparring match against her opponent. Her partner earlier was her opponent, and she struggled to get an advantage on him. She was eager to beat her partner in the sparring match. Something that Shuaige failed to mention was that Taobing was a former Lei Tai champion. Without bending, she lacked in fighting; she refused to concede to the thought of losing to a non-bender.

Avani charged at the former champion, she struck him in the jaw, but it had no effect. She failed to knock him down. Taobing absorbed the hit, but to him, it felt like a bumble fly sting, “Is that all you’ve got, girl?” he taunted her.

He stood boastful and tall, Taobing permitted her to have a breather. He grinned because he knew the young woman had the spirit of a great fighter. While Avani panted for breath knelt beside a rock, her past life Hansuke popped into existence and chimed in, “Psst!”

She gasped, frightened at the sight of Hansuke, “Let me help you, discreetly lodge a rock out of the ground to trip your opponent. Then hit him in the face as he’s falling down,” suggested the past Avatar.

“Besides, if you lose to a non-bender, at least I won’t be the worst Avatar anymore,” joked Hansuke. 

She mustered her final strength and used it to push herself to her feet. She waited for the right moment when Taobing came forward she slid her foot as quick as she could. A small rock emerged out of the ground, the unsuspecting fighter failed to spot the stone, tripping over it and falling. As he dropped to the ground, Avani slammed her fist against his face with all her might. Knocking Taobing out on unconscious before he hit the ground.

Baoshou waved down a white flag after he examined the former Lei Tai champion. He announced, “Avani wins by a knockout!”

“Woo!” she cheered as she leaped with joy, Zuqiu and Fangzhu rooted for her. Airen watched near impressed and slowly clapped for the Avatar’s victory. Some of the other men, however, were dissatisfied, and few lost their bets. Shuaige, though, was angrier than those who lost their chances; he was red and furious. He approached the victor and yelled at her, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

He clenched her arm and questioned her angrily, “How dare you to cheat?!”

She turned to face him offended and argued, “Cheat?! How did I cheat? You saw me beat him into the ground fair and square!”

“No, I saw what you did! You slid your foot, and a small rock came out of the earth. You used it your advantage so that you could beat him because you can’t defeat him without bending!” contended Shuaige.

“What?! Y-you’re just saying that because I’m a woman, and you’re mad that the fighter you betted on to win lost!” she screamed.

“I don’t play favorites, just like the others, you too will face punishment! And I’ll be sending a report to our King. He will know what you did today!” threatened Shuaige.

Baoshou, too, expressed his anger; he gave Avani the evil eye and shook his head in disappointment. Airen bore his gaze upon her; he stared at her for a brief moment, then he turned away and left. Fangzhu and Zuqiu frowned at the Avatar and followed behind the nobleman. Shuaige wasn’t going to let her off the hook, and he usually would’ve punished her publicly.

But he didn’t want others' staring and unwanted attention from the men while doing so. Her first offense of cheating resulted in a light discipline; this was her first time breaking the rules. As Earth King Shuicheng and the White Lotus kept her in check. How could an obedient young girl grow up to be such a rebellious young woman?

“Baoshou escorted her to the Ring of Punishment, I’ll prepare the bo staff,” ordered Shuaige. 

Er Baoshou nodded to his orders without a second thought and padded toward the girl. She ripped her hand from his, “I’m not a child I can follow without you holding my hand,” she sassed.

They were both quiet until they reached the field that he escorted her to; she asked him, “You’re okay with this?”

“If I was in his position, I would’ve done it differently, but you have to understand you broke his rules. Shuaige only seeks to please our Tianzi; you’ve disrespected him, me, and those soldiers. Did you not see the face of those men when Captain Qishi called you out for cheating?” opinionated he then questioned Baoshou.

Avani lowered her head in shame, “Yes.”

“Avatar or not, you have to go through the punishment. Not much I can do to save you, sorry,” finished Baoshou.

They stopped in the center where Shuaige awaited with a staff in his hands; she led to a platform with three walls. The walls were tall enough to hide her entire body. Shuaige commanded her, “Disrobe.”

“What?” she asked him, confused.

“I said disrobe,” he repeated.

“You’ve spent half of your life mastering the elements around the world. Did you not learn discipline during that time?” Shuaige inquired.

Avani removed her robes; Shuaige gripped the bo staff tight in his hands. He ignored what physiological responses he might’ve had. She answered, “I didn’t travel the world to master the elements; I trained in the Palace Ring, with my bending masters.”

She faced away from the Captain; she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Shuaige felt he wasn’t ready for this. But he couldn’t take a step back now he gritted his teeth and flinched when he went for the first swing against her body. Avani attempted to reach a calm state during the punishment, but the first strike was an agonizing pain. Her sentence was sixty strikes with a bo staff. She shut her eyes tight and clenched her jaw as the second strike slammed against her upper back.

Shuaige felt terrible when he saw that the areas where he struck her were red. Strike after strike echoed throughout the camp, Avani screamed. Another strike and tears rolled down her face, that night Zuqiu cried himself to sleep as he overheard the shrieks of the Avatar. Airen sat in his tent along with others staring into nothingness as the Avatar was being caned. Fangzhu flinched after every strike that echoed; he sat across from Airen as he tried to drown out her screams with meditation. 

Meanwhile, Lin Xi Chao ended a second song while Gan and Governor Luyou Bei enjoyed themselves a teacup. Governor Bei seemed concerned when he mentioned, “Hmm, that’s odd; my steward is usually back by now. In the mid-afternoon, he fancies himself a session at the House of Ravishing Flowers. But he hasn’t returned.”

A retainer of his entered the living room bowing before the government official, “Governor Luyou, apologies for interrupting your meeting, but we regret to inform you that Steward Laobiao is severely wounded; he’s currently in the estate infirmary,” briefed the guardsman.

Gan sighed within, “I specifically told her not to do anything rash but get the information we need!”

Lin Xi pondered, “What did Bian Nu Xing do? Ooh, Gan isn’t happy!”

Lin Xi cringed but tried his best not to break character. The guardsman whispered something into the Governor’s ear, “Sir, there is another thing you should know.”

He paused then resumed, “Laopiao was founded with a brand on his forehead with the word ‘pervert,’ he’s losing blood from his nether regions because he was castrated!”

“What?!” shouted Governor Bei in disbelief.

“What did he say? What did he do?” bugged the Governor.

“He won’t say, we believe the humiliation is enough; Madam Zhe Caigou was horrified when she discovered him in this state. She said it had to be her newest employee,” he reported.

“Damn, it was her!” Gan thought to himself.

“I want this mystery woman found! She will pay for what she did to my steward!” hissed Luyou.

Fen Mo Fu waited for the Governor and the guard to leave before he entered the living room. Then he said, “Sir, we’re ready to leave.”

“You came in time; he’s in the infirmary,” commented Gan.

Lin Xi slung the pipa onto his back, then Mo Fu led both he and Gan out of the main house through the kitchens and out of the service tunnel. Nu Xing bided her time outside when Mo Fu gave the signal she shot a small ember at the explosives cord made by Mo Fu. Lin Xi, Nu Xing, and Pi Dao jumped into the carriage while Mo Fu and Gan climbed onto the coachbox.

At the same time, Governor Luyou arrived at the infirmary, on a bed rested the injured Laopiao. He was beaten and bruised, smelled of urine, and was marked with the word ‘pervert’ on his forehead. To top it all off, when Luyou peeked at the wound, he saw that the old man no longer had possession of his family jewels. He implored his steward, “Wha-what happened?!”

The old man shook his head and hesitated to answer; one of the other estate guards brought up, “We have the Madam here in the main house. She may be able to provide more information about what went down.”

“Why do you refuse to say, I order you to tell me what happened!” he commanded the man.

“I was castrated by a w-witch! A firebending witch! Sh-she wanted information on you, your family, and the b-bunker!” cried out Laopiao.

“Oh n-” whispered Governor Luyou; he was interrupted by the explosion that killed him and everyone inside the main house. Leaving his two fraternal twin daughters orphans. When the five passed the House of Ravishing Flowers on their way out of the city, a big boom shook their carriage and echoed across the Noble Estates district.

The thunderous roar behind them rocked the nearby structures causing destruction in its wake. The watchtowers inside the Noble District went insane, and they began to beat a drum sequence, the local nobility went haywire. Some ran toward the Governor's estate while others searched for survivors. This alerted the other districts within the city; citizens within different sections heard the alarm for terrorism. Some of them reacted terribly, while most of them ran for their lives. A few ran toward the noble district.

Meanwhile, overlooking the cliff, General Yun watched the skies as the sunset, “Well, time's up!”

A scout on ostrich horseback darted up the mountain pass and toward the path, “The city is in disarray! Gan and the others surely caused the explosion!”

“Then it is done! Men, you know your orders, take this city for the Kuiwu Dynasty!” roared the officer.

The war drummers mounted their badgermoles and banged their drums, many on ostrich horses and on foot rushed to the valley's bottom. Simultaneously, some men searched through the wreckage, earthbenders tossed debris away from potential victims found underneath. The remaining members of the Luyou family were found on the way home after they heard the blast and taken to the family bunker. 

Something like this hasn't happened in a long time, a governor and their steward killed through means of terrorism. Indeed, they blamed the Oma Kingdom assassins likely sent by their savage Earth King of the South. Both fraternal twins were three years too young to take up their father's seat of power. The chain of command minus the military were killed in the explosion. 

However, others chanted the name of late Governor Bei's successor, another noble of high reputable status. Back at the walls, one of the watchtowers surveyed the area in front of them. It was a bit dark to really spot anything, but one of them spotted something brown in the distance, although he wasn't sure what he saw. 

His partner asked, “Lee, what do you see?”

“I-I don't know, but something is coming, a mudslide from the mountains?” guessed Lee.

“Wait...” the other squinted his eyes as he leaned in to see better. All of a sudden, a rock shattered his skull, blood-spattered on his partner's body. 

Lee screamed in horror and fainted; another watchtower was dumbfounded too until another shouted to his partner, “Invaders! Invaders!” 

His partner grabbed the drumsticks and banged the drums to alert the city. The first guard lit the bonfire, which alarmed the towers on the wall minus one. The buildings in the northern Bazaar, Commoner's District, and Agricultural Lands also lit their fires. Bonfires simultaneously began alight as their tower co-workers banged the drums. Men who hurried toward the walls of the city saw the fires on the left tower, “Damn! They saw us!”

Inside the carriage, the three hidden inside heard the drums ringing, “They're here!” called out Pi Dao.

Lin Xi nudged Nu Xing, “What you did to that steward might have cost us this. Gan isn't happy.”

“Mo Fu did the job! The Governor and his chain of command are dead!” argued the noblewoman.

“You broke the orders and allowed your emotions to get the best of you, Nu Xing,” countered Lin Xi.

“What did you do?” wondered the thief.

“I branded the sick pervert with what he did on his forehead and castrated the gouzaizi! He regularly visited the brothel to molest a child!” she revealed, found herself to get choked up on the last sentence.  
“It was her revenge, so yes, I let my emotions get in the way of the mission,” admitted Nu Xing.

“In that case, I retract my words,” apologized the minstrel.

“How are we going to get away without being caught in the crossfire?!” shouted Mo Fen from the outside.

“Hold on! We'll stay hidden somewhere until we see our armies ravage the walls, then we join them,” responded Gan.

The walls trembled, and Pi Dao flinched when he heard the sound; Lin Xi giggled, “You've never been in a war before?!”

The thief shook his head, “Gan paid for my fines, back in Tuyu province. 

They were going to cane me one-hundred times, I was set up by my client.”

“So yes, this is my first time dealing with war,” added Pi Dao.

“Were you not present when the Oma Kingdom took Xiawu?” inquired Lin Xi.

“No, I'm not even from Tuyu, I was born in Houxi province. I was kicked out by my father after I was caught stealing; that was my first offense in the Haijun Kingdom,” replied Pi Dao.

“So, you're a Haijun Kingsman,” guessed Lin Xi.

“Aye,” nodded the thief.

The gates busted open, a trebuchet broke the gates, thirty-thousand-and-five-hundred invaders flooded the front gates to the city. The Provincial Guard already set up barricades in the Commoner's District and the bazaar's southern portion. The Naval Command deployed men as reinforcements; the militia was positioned in the Agricultural Lands, passing the time until the intruding army showed up. 

A scout on a flying mount went on above the bazaar, he saw the torches from the several thousands of soldiers below. It looked like lava overtook the opening of the capital and returned to the War District. 

When he stopped, he informed his commanding officer, “Sir, there's too many of them. A small portion of them is currently outside the walls. And they've destroyed most of the watchtowers on the wall and in the northern bazaar.”

“What are we going to do?” he questioned the man.

The officer sighed, “Tell the watchtowers to alert the city for surrender.”

“What? Sir, you're ordering me to tell the men to stand down and surrender,” the scout was shocked and scared.

“Do what you are told, soldier! Lives are at stake! We don't have a governing body at the moment, and you've said it yourself there are too many of them!” the officer barked at him. The scout lowered his head then slightly nodded to his superior. 

He ran to the nearest tower and gave them signs; both men read, “We're surrendering.”

“Surrender?!” they repeated.

The drummer beat the drums, alerting the others within fifteen minutes the remaining towers in the city warned the servicemen and citizens to surrender. The soldiers dropped their weapons and fell to their knees. Mo Fu wondered, “What does that mean?”

“I've heard it before, the city's surrendering without their Governor they don't have a chain of command. Plus, we came in huge numbers; they knew better,” Gan answered. 

The army stopped in its tracks; echoes of victory filled the bazaar and the eastern part of the Commoner's District. The scout returned to his superior, “What do we do now?”

“The daughters of the Governor are protected underground, but we'll send in the ambassador to speak to their superiors. We'll have to coexist until reinforcements come to save us,” explained the officer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * The Killing Fist style belongs to Sup Juet Sao AKA the Ten Killing Hands created by Great Grandmaster Wong Fei Hung. In-universe it was created by the Wang-Mu Warrior cult. A group of pious non-benders; they created a fighting style by studying earthbending. 
> 
> * The Wang-Mu Warriors were first introduced in Book Two of Avatar: The Legacy of Rong Yan, native to the Wang-Mu Summit of the Kunlun province.
> 
> * “亡命之徒,” is tattooed on his chest as punishment, it means "runaway"; this is a reference to the Ancient Chinese Five Punishments. They tattooed some criminals with something called, "penal tattooing" or "mo 墨".
> 
> * "Side Grab Claw" is one of the Ten Killing Hands, "Jut Ming Fu".
> 
> * "Double Backfist" is one of the Ten Killing Hands, "Sheung Kwa Choi Faht".
> 
> * The soldier mentioning that Nu Xing's name is masculine was a vague hint that she was assigned male at birth.
> 
> * Her comment, "I didn’t come all this way to have an ignorant man tell me that my name isn’t feminine. The tedious process of changing one’s name is far worse than getting a new identity from the Mother of Faces.”; is another hint that she made a journey to change who her identity and changing her name through the government was a lot harder is also a reference to how some people mention changing their sex is difficult in real life.
> 
> * The toss-up bun hairstyle was popularized in the Song Dynasty by noblewoman, her attire that has several layers is a reference to what Song Dynasty women commonly wore from 960 AD - 1279 AD. The difference between Haijunese and Oma women is the footbinding, in the Haijun Kingdom its common for noble and commoner women to have bound their feet. While the Oma Kingdom women don't do this.
> 
> * Lin Xi uses a haladie sometimes which is a double-edged dagger from ancient Syria and India, consisting of two curved blades, each approximately 8.5 inches in length, attached to a single hilt. Lin Xi plays a pipa which is a Chinese lute.
> 
> * Ren zha means "useless man" in Chinese, it's considered a swear word.
> 
> * "baopo xiang" are boxes of dynamite.
> 
> * Qinai demeans "dear", a term of endearment in Chinese.
> 
> * Baobao means "baby", a term of endearment in Chinese.
> 
> * A jiba ring is a cock ring, which was invented sometime in the Song Dynasty.
> 
> * Yinjing means "dildo", in the Han Dynasty dildos were created from iron.
> 
> * "When you have money and power, they let you do anything in this place!" is a reference to a quote said by the 45th President of the US, Donald J. Trump; "And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything."
> 
> * When Laopiao tells Nu Xing, "This is where I bring Nu Ying to; she’s half your age.”; he's openingly revealing to her that he rapes an illegal prostitute kidnapped at a young age. This is a reference to ancient times and even today where young girls are kidnapped and forced to work in prostitution, Nu Xing is in her thirties, and Laopiao's victim is fifteen. Nu Ying means "baby girl" in Chinese.
> 
> * 'The Feifei of Guandi' is a fictional song that was written about one of Governor Luyou's ancestors.
> 
> * Hansuke himself acknowledges that he's a horrible Avatar and even jokes with Avani, "Besides, if you lose to a non-bender, at least I won’t be the worst Avatar anymore." 
> 
> * As part of the Five Punishments as Avani's first offense she's beaten with a stick sixty times. She regretted listening to Hansuke's advice something Keirou warned her about.


End file.
